


Family Doesn't End With Blood

by baloobird



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017)
Genre: Acephobia, Angst, Asexual Character, Asexual Peter Parker, Asexual Tony Stark, Bullying, Christmas Fluff, Coming Out, Cuz Fuck Canon, F/M, False Accusations, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff, Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Justice System Inaccuracies, Ned Leeds is a Good Bro, Nightmares, Not Canon Compliant, Panic Attacks, Peter Parker & Morgan Stark are Siblings, Peter Parker Gets a Hug, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Platonic Cuddling, Post-Endgame, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Precious Peter Parker, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Tony Stark, Sexual Assault, Sexual Harassment, Sickfic, Threats of Rape/Non-Con, Tony Stark Acting as Peter Parker's Parental Figure, Tony Stark Has A Heart, Tony Stark Lives, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, carsickness, it's not graphic, will eventually add more tags
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-03
Updated: 2019-12-21
Packaged: 2020-02-16 09:59:07
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 10
Words: 23,948
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18689209
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/baloobird/pseuds/baloobird
Summary: If someone asked Tony a decade ago that he'd come to care about a teen superhero like he would a son, he'd laugh right in their face and ask if they're drunk.But here he is, with this stubborn-ass kid from Queens, this kid that somehow got the billionaire superhero wrapped around his finger.And this kid from Queens? He's just psyched that he hasIron Manas a mentor...but he never expected the relationship to go from mentor to father-figure.And neither is complaining. In fact, they take pride in it.(Irondad Bingo Prompts)





	1. Coming Out

**Author's Note:**

> Hi, everyone!! This is the first of my Irondad Bingo Prompts, I hope you enjoy!!!! All of these fics will be separate one-shots (unless otherwise noted).
> 
> Here's the link to their Tumblr: https://irondadbingo.tumblr.com

That's it, he's going in there.

Tony has been sitting in the car for about fifteen minutes now and his protege _still_ hasn't come out of the library.

Peter has been dating this girl from school for the past few months and he's head over heels in “puppy love.” Whenever Peter starts talking about her in the lab, Tony would roll his eyes and tease, but it's actually adorable.

And now Tony is at the library picking up one half of the young couple from a study date.

Or supposedly, if the kid ever gets out here.

After calling Peter again with no answer - he probably has his phone on silent, the "goody-two-shoes" - the man walks into the library to find them.

And, okay...maybe he's also curious about meeting this “girlfriend” that his kid is so hung up over, sue him.

Tony walks around various bookshelves, tables, and cubicles while trying his best to look casual. After about a minute, he catches sight of a familiar curly head in the distance and walks over.

Tony is one shelf over and about to blurt out a playful joke to embarrass Peter when he overhears them talking. He's stunned to hear that the loud whispers sound like they're in the middle of an argument.

The man hears Peter's voice first, "I told you, Zoey, I'm not into that stuff."

"But you're a _guy_ , Peter. All guys are into it."

"Welp, _this_ one isn't."

Tony has absolutely no idea what they're talking about. He takes a book off of the shelf in front of him and the gap gives him an almost clear view of the two teenagers. They're both sitting at a table in the corner with the spiderling facing Tony and his girlfriend across from him.

Tony shouldn't be spying on him, he knows that. He ought to just go over there, tell the kid that it's time to go, and drag him to the car.

But he has to see how this plays out, and how Peter will handle it; he'll intervene if it gets heated.

Peter's cheeks are tinged red, probably in embarrassment, "I told you when we first started going out that I didn't want to do that stuff. You...you said you were fine with it."

His girlfriend, Zoey, responds, "I thought you just meant that you didn't want to have sex right then. You seriously don't wanna do it _at all_?"

Tony's eyebrows raise in surprise. They're already talking about sex? They've only been dating a few months, shouldn't this still be the "puppy love" stage? And they're only sixteen, for crying out loud.

Peter sputters, "Um, no, I don’t, I'm just...not interested in that, okay?"

"Then why are we even together?"

Tony finds himself grabbing tightly onto the book that he took off the shelf. Who does this girl think she is, pressuring his kid like this?

Peter looks offended, "Um, because I _like_ you…. You're funny, you're smart -"

Zoey cuts him off with a loud whisper, "Then why don't you wanna have sex with me, then?!"

Tony can't take this. He's about to intervene when Peter answers the question.

"Because I'm _asexual_ , okay?! I don't wanna have sex because _I don’t want to_. Like...at all." Peter takes a second to collect himself before continuing, "You happy now?"

Tony drops the book in shock but he catches it before it hits the floor.

_Oh my God._

Well...this is the last thing on earth that Tony was ever expecting. He had no clue. 

And now he knows. All because he's eavesdropping like a nosy church lady. He's silently cursing himself for finding out like this instead of Peter telling him when he's ready.

After a few seconds of tense silence, Zoey responds with, "Seriously?"

The boy's eyes bug out in shock, "Yeah...seriously."

_Yeah, seriously._

"Have you even _had_ sex?"

Peter rolls his eyes. He looks so done with this conversation, "Why does that matter?"

"So, _that's_ a 'no', obviously -"

"So?"

"So how do you know you don't like it?"

Tony rolls his eyes, himself. He has the sudden urge to push this brat off of Avengers Tower.

Peter now just looks defeated, "I just...I just don't, okay? I can't really explain it, I...I just don't wanna do it. I don’t have any sort of ‘urge’ or ‘want’ like everyone else has. Now please, for the love of God, can we stop talking about it, already? I have to leave soon anyway."

Zoey stands up and gets her things together. Peter, still sitting down, does the same. Tony decides to wait and appear once the girl leaves.

Said girl suddenly stops and looks directly at Peter, "Do you actually expect me to not have sex?"

_Good freakin’ Lord._

That question catches Peter off-guard and he stutters, "Uh-uh-yeah...yeah kinda...I said this right from the beginning, and _you_ said you were okay with it. You shouldn't be mad at me for this."

Zoey groans in exasperation, “This is bullshit, do you have _any_ idea how selfish you're being?”

Tony stifles a groan. This poster child for birth control is so damn determined to make his kid feel even more like shit than he already does. The poor guy doesn’t deserve any of this.

Peter quickly stands up to face her directly. Tony’s heart aches at seeing the hurt in his eyes, "Don't put this on me, I told you -"

"That doesn't mean shit! How did _I_ know that that was what you meant? You did that on purpose."

"No, I didn’t! Okay, so I didn’t say the word, exactly, but I couldn't have made it any clearer -"

"And you’re seriously not gonna try it? Not even once? You’ll like it once you actually do it, you know that, right?"

She grabs Peter's hand and he immediately snatches it away from her. He crosses his arms in defense, "We're done. I don't wanna do that stuff and you obviously do so...we're done."

Tony’s heart swells with pride and he smiles from behind the bookshelf.

Zoey grabs her backpack and wraps it around her shoulder, "Good. Maybe I'll find someone that's actually _normal_."

Peter lets out a humorless laugh, "And to think that I actually liked you."

"And now you lost me. Have fun _not_ having sex, Parker."

"Trust me, _I will_!"

She walks off and Peter sits back down. He props his elbows up on the table, puts his head in his hands, and takes slow, deep breaths. His gaze goes to the table and stays there.

Tony opens the book and pretends to be immersed in it as she walks by. He can't believe what he just heard, not Peter's confession, but how his now ex-girlfriend reacted to it.

That was awful. _She_ was awful.

He wants to go comfort his kid, but he hangs back still; he decides to give Peter some space before he turns the corner.

Unexpectedly, Peter whispers, "You can come out now, Mr. Stark."

That throws Tony for a loop. He's stayed hidden the whole time, how did Peter know he was here?

As if reading the man's mind, Peter continues, head still in his hands, "I can hear you breathing."

_Right...enhanced senses...shit._

Tony puts the book back and appears from behind the shelf. He gives the teen a grin that says "I know I fucked up, but please don't be mad at me."

Peter still hasn't looked up so he didn't see the silly grin. The genius walks around the table and sits in a chair that's right next to the kid.

Tony doesn't know what to say. 

He overheard something that was very private and not meant for his ears. And the girl that Peter told in confidence threw it back in his face.

So...how does Iron Man make it better this time?

Tony scoots his chair until he's right next to Peter. He wraps an arm around the kid's shoulders and pulls him against his chest, not giving a single damn if anyone sees them. 

Peter drops his arms and wraps them around his father figure's torso. Tony's heart breaks when he sees tears in the teen's eyes.

The teen lays his forehead in the crook of Tony’s neck and the man starts ruffling his hair. It's a given that this always relaxes him and slowly, those deep breaths turn into normal ones.

After a few more moments, Tony finally breaks the ice and says softly, “Whatever you're thinking, stop. She's not worth it.”

Peter responds in a raspy voice, “God, I'm such an idiot.”

“Did you even hear what I just said?”

“I'm just telling the truth.”

“Peter, you don't need me to tell you that you're not an idiot because you already know that. You and I both know that _she's_ the idiot and you're better off without her.”

Tony feels the collar of his shirt getting damp and his heart clenches.

Peter takes a few seconds before he asks, “Will...will they all be like that?”

The kid didn't say it, but Tony knows exactly what he meant: will all of his relationships be with people who insist on having sex?

The mechanic quickly responds, “No, I promise you that there are decent people out there who won't treat you like she just did.”

Peter goes back to what he said earlier, “I'm an idiot; I'm so stupid for thinking that I can be with someone who's okay with not having sex.”

“You _will_ find someone. You'll find someone who's gonna love you so much that they won't give a shit about sex. Don't let that spoiled brat discourage you like this, please, kiddo.”

Despite himself, Peter half-smiles against his hero's neck. He then groans, “I really liked her…she was so nice and fun. But then this happened, and it was like she was a different person or something.”

Tony sighs and lays his chin atop Peter's head. His hand moves to rub soothing circles on the spider-boy's back, “For what it’s worth, I’m glad all this came out now instead of later; so you can just put this awful memory to rest and focus on literally anything else.”

“I guess…” Peter then jerks his head up, which forces Tony to jerk his head up as well, “She’s gonna tell everyone, isn’t she?”

Tony locks eyes with his kid, “Let her, okay, _let her_. Let her enjoy those ‘fifteen seconds of fame,’ ‘cuz that’s the most that she’s gonna get in life.”

The teen barely registers what Tony said, “But this is whole school, Mr. Stark! I couldn’t even work up the courage to tell _you_ , what makes you think that I want the whole school to know?”

“Hey, hey,” Tony shushes Peter and gently pushes him back into his chest, “Let's not focus on that right now, okay?”

Peter lays his cheek against his mentor's collar bone and lets himself be comforted. Between this and seeing his father figure's chest rise and fall with his breaths, he can't help but silently admit that it's making him feel better. He then feels a redness creep up into his cheeks, “I'm sorry for being such a baby.”

Tony squeezes his kid around his side in reassurance, “You got hurt today, bud, don't apologize for having emotions. _I'm_ sorry for eavesdropping; that was the definition of ‘not cool.’”

Peter snorts and looks up at the man, head staying in that same spot, “Actually...I knew you were there the whole time...I could hear you breathing, remember?”

Tony stares down at the kid in disbelief, “Yeah, how'd you know it was _my_ breathing?”

Peter shrugs, “Because it's _you_. I'd be an idiot if I didn't know your breathing.”

Tony softly snickers and rests his chin back on top of Peter's head, “Of course, _silly me_. So when you told that girl you're asexual -”

Peter's gaze goes back to his mentor's chest, “Yeah, I was...I was telling you at the same time. I've been wanting to tell you for a while, but I...I didn't know how, so...I thought this was as good a time as any.”

The genius goes back to rubbing circles into Peter's back, “Thank you for telling me. I'm very proud of you, by the way.”

Peter snorts again, “I'm crying over a stupid girl who's stupid, I'm so stupid -”

“Stop, stop right now. That's my kid you're talking about.”

Peter cracks another half-smile at that.

Tony raises his head again and lifts Peter's chin to get his attention, “You stood up for yourself. You didn't give in to all that crap she was telling you, and that's not easy to do. I'm proud of you, kiddo.”

Peter's smile grows, but fades soon after, “But why did she have to be mean like that? She could've just told me...it would've made for a nicer breakup, at least.”

Tony sighs, “The day you find out why people are like that is the day that someone cures the common cold. Don't fret over them ‘cuz they're certainly not fretting over you, alright?"

The teen groans defeatedly, gaze still on his father figure, “I guess...thank you, by the way...for being here.”

Tony cracks a gentle smile, “Anytime, bud. Now...how does ice cream sound?”

Peter raises an eyebrow in amusement, “You're really using the ‘break-up food’ stereotype on me?”

“Well...is it working?”

The kid mulls it over for a couple of seconds, “Will there be cookie dough-flavored ‘break-up food’?”

The hero smirks, “I think I can arrange it.”

“Then hell yes...please.”

They laugh and get up from the table. Tony grabs the kid’s backpack and slings it over his shoulder as they make their way to the car.

Tony had just started the car when Peter shyly asks, “Mr. Stark...am I normal?”

The older man gently smiles; he knows exactly why Peter is asking that question, “Nope, not by a long shot,” he then looks up at his kid’s widened eyes, “But not for that reason. You’re still the same smart, adorable, weird spider-boy that I know and love, and nothing about you is gonna change that. Capisce?”

Peter’s cheeks flush with the good kind of embarrassment, and his half-smile grows into a full grin, “Capisce...love you too, by the way.”

Tony fondly ruffles Peter’s hair before driving off to buy all the cookie dough-flavored “break-up food” in existence. 


	2. Nightmares

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Endgame spoilers (kinda)...I mean I didn't follow any canon so you're actually probably good here XD Enjoy!!!!
> 
> Loosely inspired by a scene from the movie, _Lincoln_

Titan.

It's about all that's been on Tony's mind since they defeated Thanos.

Well...if he's being honest...it's been on his mind since long before the snap even happened. 

But Thanos is now dead. The giant purple grape is dead, so everything and _everyone_ should be back to normal. 

Biggest understatement of the fucking decade.

Even now, Tony is laying in bed and actually intending on sleeping this time, but his mind has opposing ideas.

He casually looks over at another thing that's constantly flooding his mind as of late: a certain curly-haired superhero whom Tony has long since come to love like a son.

Peter is laying on his stomach, sound asleep, with his head facing towards his father figure. One hand is lightly gripping his pillow and his other hand is peeking out from under it. Tony lazily smiles at the kid's light snores.

Peter became extra clingy after he returned from the snap and Tony can't blame him. That final battle was traumatizing enough for his own self, he can't imagine how it must've been for a sixteen-year-old kid. 

May informed the man that Peter hasn't even slept in his room since he got back because he's too afraid of being alone.

So when Tony brought Peter to stay at his place for the weekend, the genius already had everything set up for the kid to stay with him to save Peter the embarrassment of having to ask.

Tony will never say this out loud, but he doesn’t mind this arrangement. For someone who can talk to a signpost, the spider-boy’s a surprisingly quiet sleeper. The older man also thought that if he kept the kid closeby, it might help put his own mind at ease...maybe even help him sleep.

Well, that's apparently not working since it's now three in the morning and sleep has yet to claim him. 

What else is new?

The hero turns back to stare at the ceiling like he's done for the past three hours. His thoughts are a million miles away from the safety of his bedroom. 

His thoughts are interrupted when he feels the bed jerk suddenly. He looks back over at the kid.

Peter jerks again as the man looks over. His face is scrunched up and his hand is gripping the pillow so tight that Tony wonders if his fingernails will squeeze through the fabric. The hero’s sympathy grows when the kid starts letting out short gasps of air.

The hero’s heart clenches. Peter is having another nightmare. 

Tony scoots closer to the kid and turns on his side. After the teen jerks again, the man uses his right hand to fluff Peter's hair and hopefully wake him up.

The gasps get a little bit louder, so the hero increases the fluffing. Tony then starts whispering soothing reassurances to Peter, “Come on, Pete, it's okay...it’s okay, you're safe now. C'mon, kiddo, wake up.”

But Peter is so trapped in his own personal hell that he doesn't hear the man. The jerks get more erratic, so Tony talks a little louder to coax the kid up. He takes his thumb and gently drags it across his kid's forehead as he's talking.

After a few more seconds, Tony finally gets Peter to jerk himself awake. The hair fluffing doesn't falter.

Peter is gasping for air when he wakes but when he locks eyes with his father figure, he relaxes almost instantly. 

Tony gives the kid a soft smile, “It's just me, bud, you just had a bad dream.”

Peter's voice comes out raspy, “Again….”

Tony frowns, “I'm sorry, buddy.”

The spiderling drops his head back onto the pillow in exasperation. His voice drops to almost a whisper, “It was so real...it was so real, Mr. Stark.”

Tony's heart breaks more when he sees tears form in his kid's eyes. He cups Peter's jaw and uses his thumb to rub soothing circles into the teen's cheeks.

The man's voice stays at a gentle tone, "You're okay, it's over...it's all over now."

Peter whimpers, "But...but it's not over...it’s never gonna be over.”

“Yes, it will, bud, I promise. Stuff like this just takes time.”

The spider-boy’s sobs increase, “But...I’m so tired...I just wanna sleep, Mr. Stark.”

Before Tony knows it, Peter starts sobbing.

“Oh, buddy.”

Tony ruffles the teen’s hair again. He then gives his kid a soft kiss on the forehead before completely enveloping him in his arms. Peter leans into the comfort and grips tightly onto the front of his father figure’s shirt, as if his life depends on it. Tony has one hand on the back of Peter’s head and the other wrapped around his back, almost like he’s unintentionally forming a cocoon around the spiderling. He gives soothing shushing sounds and rubs his back as he lets the kid cry.

God, Tony wishes that he could make this better; he would’ve done it, already, if he could. He doesn’t like to think about it, but maybe getting Peter professional help or something might actually be a good thing for him. 

But it’s almost four in the morning.

Right now, all he wants to do is get this tyke to sleep.

After a while, Tony hears the cries finally start to lessen. He expects Peter to pull away from him, but he actually feels the teen get even closer to him than before.

When Peter is able to talk, he says a raspy, “Thank you.”

Tony squeezes him even closer, “Don’t mention it, buddy. Don’t ever mention it.”

After another heartfelt squeeze, Tony turns until he is on his back again. He doesn’t hesitate to bring the kid with him and Peter happily obliges. Tony wraps his arm around his kid’s back and Peter lays into the crook of his shoulder. The teen then whispers, “Can you-uh...can you...never mention this? I-I don’t wanna worry Aunt May again….”

Tony looks down at him, “Mention what?”

Peter looks up in confusion, but then gives a tentative smile when he sees his hero give him a knowing smirk. He then settles back into the crook of said man’s shoulder, more comfortable than he was before. He doesn’t know if it’s from the hearing of his hero’s heartbeat, breathing, or probably both, but the spider-baby slowly succumbs to sleep again.

Tony sighs in relief when he hears his protege start snoring. He stares back up at the ceiling like he did before.

This is just the start, and Tony has no idea how long this kind of trauma will last. He’s heard that healing from stuff like this can take years. He doesn’t want his kid to suffer like this for years.

But, unfortunately, he can’t control that...as much as he wishes he could.

Tony snaps out of it; this is a conversation that “Future Tony” and “Future Peter” can have when it’s daylight outside. Right now, the prime focus is to make sure the child stays asleep, and maybe the man himself can doze off for a bit too.

Before he finally drifts off, Tony says a silent prayer to whoever or whatever is up there for the two of them to finally get a well-deserved good night’s sleep.


	3. Non-Con (Part 1)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for sexual harassment and threats of rape/non-con (not graphic, I promise)

Tony is bored out of his damn mind.

He thought that when he made his now wife CEO of Stark Industries, he wouldn't have to go to these fancy affairs anymore.

Yet he’s at one now...on a Friday night. 

A Friday night that he already had planned with his intern before Pepper stuck him with this event-party thing.

While Pepper's off promoting the new StarkPhone, the man actually had a fun weekend ahead of him. His protege is staying the night and they were going to hide out in the lab to work on a new stealth suit for Peter; the tyke was so psyched about it.

But instead, Tony is here for another who-knows-how-many hours. His only genuine source of entertainment is seeing Peter gawk at the fancy food and at the servers that are wearing nicer clothes than some of the guests here.

Tony feels guilty for dragging Peter to this unplanned excursion, but he appreciates that the kid hasn't complained. The teen, not surprisingly, has stuck to his mentor like glue and the genius can't blame him. Peter is in an unfamiliar place filled with unfamiliarly well-dressed people, even the most extroverted person in the world would be a bundle of nerves.

But Tony is also secretly grateful to have Peter here. He'd much rather shoot the breeze with his kid for six or thirty-six hours than talk to any of the snooty adults that are present.

They have been at this event for about four hours and the duo are more than ready to go home. Tony gave some speech about the StarkPhone having features surpassing those of Apple and Samsung, and Peter ate enough food to satisfy his superhero-sized appetite. They only saw Pepper once in passing before she had to rush off again. 

The heroes have now isolated themselves in a corner of the enormous party room. They were making fun of the other people there when Tony catches sight of a woman in a light pink dress on the other side of the room. He knows the look she's giving him; plenty of men and women in his day have given him that same look of lust and he has returned those looks with ones of his own. 

But he is married now, _happily_ married, actually, and not interested. 

Tony just responds with a polite smile and then turns back to the kid. The man sees that said kid can't seem to stay still for some reason. Peter is slightly shifting from foot to foot and he has his arms tightly crossed across his chest. The spiderling is also glancing around the room like he's searching for something. 

The older man is about to ask what's wrong, but then he thinks back to the three or four or _five_ glasses of sparkling grape juice that the anxious teen has downed since they've been here. He chuckles to himself and decides to help his protege out, "Bathrooms are over there, bud."

Peter follows his mentor's point and sighs in relief when he finally spots the sign for the restrooms, "Oh, thank God," his cheeks heat up when he realizes that he said that out loud. He turns back to the snickering hero, "Heh...um...you're not gonna like...move or anything, right?"

"Kid, that might require socializing, and why would I wanna do that?"

Peter lightly chuckles along with the man, "Okay...okay," the web-slinger glances back at the restrooms like he's scared that they got up and walked away in the last thirty seconds, "Uh...be right back."

The mechanic continues snickering as he watches his kid make a beeline for the bathrooms. He people watches as he finishes his glass of champagne, his wife still nowhere in sight.

As he's putting his empty champagne glass on a nearby server’s tray, he sees that woman from earlier and she is now walking up to him.

_How fucking lovely._

He thought the whole point of hiding out in the corner is so that he _doesn't_ have to talk to people anymore.

Once he shoots her down, she'll move on to someone else anyway, he thinks.

The woman has a smile plastered on her face and she holds out her hand, intending for Tony to shake it, "It is _so_ wonderful to see you again, Mr. Stark."

 _Again? Am I supposed to know you from somewhere?_

Tony puts on a fake smile of his own and shakes her hand, "And nice to see you, Miss…."

The lady’s smile falls a little, "Overton... _Lindsay_ Overton...you _do_ remember me, right?"

_Not. From. Adam._

The man pretends to think about it before he responds, "Nope, doesn’t ring a bell."

“Oh….” Lindsay lets go of his hand and takes a couple of steps closer to him. She then whispers in his ear, “How ‘bout _this_ for a reminder?” And she grabs the man’s ass.

His eyes bug out in shock. Is she _actually_ grabbing his ass right now?

He quickly pushes her arm away from him. He’s embarrassed but he tries to not let that show and he’s praying that his cheeks aren’t red. He sheepishly grins, “Okay...okay then, uh, alright, um...I guess you didn’t get the memo huh, Lizzie?”

“ _Lindsay_ -”

Tony rolls his eyes, “Whatever, the point is, I’m off the market.” He holds up his left hand and wiggles his fingers to show off the ring.

To the genius’s surprise, _Lindsay_ laughs, “So, those tabloids are actually true?”

“Yup, so...buh-bye now.” He uses that same hand to mockingly wave “bye” to her.

Instead of leaving, the woman starts seductively moving her finger across Tony's chest. Her lustful smile doesn't falter, "Well...that's not the Tony Stark that _I_ know."

Tony feels tingles go down his arms and it's not the good-feeling kind.

_What the fuck is up this woman's tree?_

The man grabs onto Lindsay's finger and lightly pulls it away, "I said 'buh-bye now.'" He then says in a mocking tone, "That means 'I don't wanna talk to you, anymore.'"

For some reason, the person in front of him doesn't seem to get the hint. She rubs her hand back onto the billionaire's chest, "Oh, c'mon now, I know you don't mean that. There’s plenty of empty rooms upstairs, so why don't I," she uses her other hand to grab Tony's ass again, "Jog your memory a little bit?"

Tony is getting downright uncomfortable and annoyed at this whole exchange. He takes a quick glance around the room and sees that no one is looking their way and _where the fuck are his wife and kid?_

The man gets her hands away from him, yet again, "Okay, no more 'Mr. Nice Guy', get the fuck away from me."

Lindsay snaps, "I wouldn’t say that if I were you, Stark. All I gotta do is shout 'rape' and the 'heroic' _Iron Man_ is done for."

Tony's eyes widen in shock. Is she actually being serious right now? 

_Fuck fuck fuck fuck, what the fuckity fucking shit is this?_

This is all a set-up. A set-up for him to inevitably fail.

Lindsay lightly pushes Tony against the wall and locks eyes with him. She smiles in victory, "So...about that invitation for upstairs -"

"No fucking way, you crazy bitch."

" _Ooh_ , you talk to your wife with that mouth?" She moves into Tony's personal space even more, to the point where their noses are almost touching. The billionaire turns his head to the side to try and avoid any closer contact. Lindsay hisses like a damn snake, "All it takes is one scream, Stark."

_I can't hit a woman, I can't hit a woman, I cannot hit a woman…._

The genius tries a “last resort” tactic, head still turned away, “Look, lady, I have money, loads of it...how much do you want?”

Lindsay “innocently” tilts her head to the side, which makes Tony feel about as tall as a shrunk-down Ant-Man, “What I want is worth _so_ much more than money.”

Tony feels a chill go down his spine. 

He is backed into a corner, literally _and_ figuratively. He may be a genius, but at this moment, he has absolutely no idea of what the fuck to do.

He can’t betray his wife; the last thing on this earth that he wants to do is betray his wife. And he can’t think of much else worse than having a night of “passion” - Tony cringes at the thought - with this maniacal woman in front of him. But if he doesn't do this... _everything_ that he has worked for will go up in flames.

He will be ruined.

Tony knows what he has to do and just thinking about it makes his left hand start trembling. He hides that hand in his jacket pocket.

_I’m so sorry, Pepper...I am so sorry._

The hero, who doesn’t feel like one at the moment, is still looking away from her when he says in a low voice, “Make it quick.”

Lindsay’s smile grows and it makes Tony feel sick to his stomach, “That’s a _good boy_...I know the perfect place,” she starts to grab his other hand and he snatches it away. The man is determined to keep his last shred of dignity for as long as possible. Instead of letting it be, she gets a firm grip on his wrist and gives him the most sinister look that he’s ever seen; and this is coming from a man who fought a guy that could breathe fire. 

Tony is shamefully looking down when he hears Lindsay suddenly let out a blood-curdling scream. 

His head jerks right up, petrified that she’s already about to make the accusation. But then he sees that that’s not why she’s screaming. The bitch is screaming because someone spilled champagne all over the front of her pristine pink dress; and that someone happened to be a certain fifteen-year-old curly-haired intern.

Tony pulls his wrist away from the now loosened grip and takes deep breaths against the wall. He’s trying his best to prevent a panic attack from forming, so he covers his face with his right hand and spends the next few moments just focusing on breathing. He then hears the safe voice of his protege and the sass that’s unleashed from the kid makes him almost smile.

Peter is holding an empty champagne glass in each hand when he nonchalantly steps in front of his father figure, “Oh, I am _so_ sorry, miss...my bad.”

Lindsay snaps at the kid, “Look what you’ve done, you little brat! This dress costs more than _you_.”

Peter rolls his eyes, “Yeah, I’m sure. Look, no need to be dramatic, the stain’ll wash out.”

“Does this _look_ like a dress that can be washed?”

“Does it _look_ like I care?”

Lindsay’s responses are just more grunts of frustration.

The teen may look bored, but he’s actually fuming. He would love nothing more than to web her to the chocolate fountain, “So...are you gonna go or not? You’re obviously done here.”

The woman calms herself down and looks back at Tony, who’s finally starting to calm down a little bit, himself, “Until next time, Mr. Stark.”

Peter sidesteps to block her gaze, his tone defiant, “There won’t be a next time.”

Despite reeking of alcohol, Lindsay smirks, “Oh, _he_ knows there will be a next time.”

“And _I_ know why you think so,” the woman’s eyebrows raise up in alarm and the spiderling returns the smirk with one of his own, “Yeah, that’s right, I know _everything_. So…see ya never.”

Tony shakes his head in disbelief, hand still covering his face. Of course the kid heard it through his enhanced hearing.

Lindsay lets out another grunt of annoyance before marching off towards the bathrooms. When she leaves, Peter turns to a group of people that stopped and watched the whole exchange. He then says, “Okay...you can like...go now...show’s over,” the group soon disperses into the rest of the crowd.

Peter puts the glasses on a random table and turns to Tony. The man almost feels like he could pass out, but he keeps his balance somewhat steady. He’d rather not embarrass himself any more than he already has.

The spiderling then whispers, thinking that it might help keep his mentor calm, “I called Happy right before I got here. He’s in the limo ‘round back, and he’ll tell Pepper we’re going home. Oh, and um...they don’t know...anything.”

That makes Tony feel even more like an idiot. Why didn't he just have Happy come with them, then this whole thing could’ve been avoided.

The mechanic drops his hand and nods his head, too scatterbrained at the moment to say anything. Is what almost happened really what he thinks almost happened?

Peter starts to grab his mentor's shoulder but recoils his hand at the last second, "Can I...can I touch you?"

Tony finds his voice and smiles gratefully, "Yeah, yeah...yeah, I'm good, kid. I'm all good." He proceeds to wrap his arm around his mentee's shoulders and lets himself be led through the kitchens and out the back door to the fancy car.

Happy looks at his boss in concern when they get in the limo. The man looks a bit out of it and the tyke just looks worried for him.

"Everything okay, boss?"

"Yeah, just...drive."

Happy nods his head in response. He raises the limo divider, giving the two passengers some privacy, and he drives them home. 

Tony wraps his right arm around the kid's shoulders again. Peter leans into the embrace and rests his head on the man’s chest. The teen is aware of how tight his mentor is squeezing him and how fast said mentor's heart is beating, but he doesn't say anything. 

Unsure if Happy will hear them, Peter decides to whisper, "Are you okay?"

Tony lets out a deep breath and copies the kid’s tone, "Yeah, I'm good, like I said."

The teen's voice lowers even more, "Mr. Stark, I know what I heard."

The man looks down at him, "How much _did_ you hear?"

The kid looks up at him and bites his lip, "Everything after the 'cry rape' part. Then I heard your heart beating really fast...you're allowed to be scared, y'know."

Tony can feel his cheeks heat up in utter humiliation. He props his elbow up next to the window and covers his eyes with his still trembling left hand, "I wish you didn't hear all that."

"I'm glad I did. But it’s all so bizarre...I wasn’t even gone five minutes."

The hero lifts his hand in surprise, "That was _five_ minutes?"

Peter nods his head against the older man's chest.

_It felt like five hours._

Tony then confesses, "I just...didn't think shit like that would ever happen to _me_ , y'know? I mean, I'm fucking Iron Man, and I didn't know what to do, other than...that…."

"She didn't give you a choice, no one would know what to do in that situation."

"She _did_ give me a choice -"

"An _impossible_ one, which doesn’t count,” the teen sees how much Tony’s hand is shaking and he grabs a hold of it. He squeezes and he can feel his father figure squeeze back, “Are you gonna tell Pepper?”

The mechanic lets out a deep sigh, “Yeah...but not tonight. Tonight, I just wanna...be dead to the world.”

Peter gently smiles, “Sounds good to me,” his smile fades and he gives Tony a look of sympathy, “I’m sorry that happened to you...I should’ve been there.”

The man squeezes his slowly stilling hand in reassurance, “You have nothing to apologize for, we didn’t know anything like that was gonna happen,” he pauses briefly before he continues, “Thank you...for what you did back there. You kicked some serious butt.”

Peter’s smile returns and he squeezes back, “I wish I coulda done more...she’s lucky I didn’t have my webshooters ‘cuz that dress would’ve looked _fantastic_ covered in chocolate.” 

Tony chuckles at that, “You did more than enough, kiddo. Trust me.”

The teen hears his mentor’s rapid heartbeat gradually lessen and he sighs in relief. They stay in comfortable silence for the rest of the drive home. When they feel the vehicle stop in the parking garage, Tony tells Happy that they’re staying put for a few more minutes. The chauffeur looks confused but he doesn’t question it and leaves them be.

Peter speaks up after Happy is out of earshot, “You’re gonna be okay, Mr. Stark.”

Tony snorts, “Oh and why’s that?”

The young hero is playfully smug, “‘Cuz you got _me_ , silly goose.”

The man’s snorts turn into giggles and he squeezes the kid’s hand once more, “Of course, how could I _ever_ forget you?”

Peter lets go of Tony's now still grip and he wraps his arms around him. The hero hugs back and kisses the top of his kid's head.

Tony can't help but smile to himself. He's going to be fine; not overnight, of course, but he has a wife, kid, and friends by his side. Through them, he will be just fine.

Once he puts that bitch in jail, that is.


	4. Hurt/Comfort (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow-up chapter to my last prompt, "Non-Con"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Trigger Warning for references to sexual harassment and threats of rape/non-con (nothing graphic, I promise)

Tony wakes up the following morning with Peter squished into his side.

He unconsciously ruffles the kid's hair as he slowly comes to. He then takes a good look at the spider-boy and _melts_ at the sight before him.

Peter is lightly snoring on his side, with his head resting in the crook of his father figure's shoulder. The way he's curled up makes him look younger than fifteen and Tony resists the urge to pinch the tyke's cheeks. 

Tony lays his head back onto the pillow and stares at the ceiling. His mind can't help but take him back to last night.

What if he did go through with it? Would he still be in this bed the following morning? Or would he still be with... _her_? And how would he even feel? Hurt...disgusting... _dirty_?

At that, he glances at the doorway that leads to the bathroom. He already took a shower right after they got back from the party...maybe another one wouldn't hurt.

 _Oh, for fuck's sake, Tony._

Tony tries to snap out of it. There's no point in getting another shower; it's impossible to get dirty just by sleeping so he'd be stupid to waste time by taking a second one. 

And there's no point in playing this "What If?" game that his mind just _loves_ to do. Thanks to the sleeping child next to him, he'll never find out the answer to those questions.

The longer Tony thinks about it, the more stupid he feels. Nothing actually happened, yet his idiotic brain is still reminding him of last night's almost disaster.

Tony takes a glance at the other side of the bed and isn’t surprised that it's empty; Pepper must've slept in one of their other dozen or so bedrooms. 

He looks at the clock on his phone and sees that it’s about 6:30. Sleep is definitely not claiming him again, so he figures that it's as good a time as any to make some coffee.

He slowly gets up, making sure to not disturb the kid, and heads to the kitchen. When he gets there, he sees the coffee already made up and his wife sitting at the counter drinking a cup, herself. 

The hero can't help but smile. Everyone else sees Pepper as this badass, professional businesswoman, but he gets to see her in fuzzy pajamas and a hilarious case of bedhead, so who's the _real_ winner, here?

Tony gives his wife a quick kiss on the cheek while on his way to the coffee pot, “Mornin’, sorry we kicked ya out last night.”

Pepper smiles cheekily, “Are you kidding? You guys just looked so comfortable and so damn _cute_ , it would've been a crime to wake you up. This picture's gonna be my new lock screen."

Tony looks up at her in surprise, eyebrows raised, "Pictures? You took...pictures?" 

Pepper is one step ahead of him and already holding up her phone to show her husband the photos. Tony steps closer and sees the peaceful-looking faces of himself and his kid sound asleep, positions similar to the way he woke up.

The billionaire unconsciously smiles in softness, "Blame the kid for the 'cute' part, it's another superpower he's got…" he hears his wife snicker as he pours his coffee. He then says jokingly, "If those get out, you're staying in that guest room forever."

Pepper responds with playful sass, "Good, maybe I'll finally get some sleep without hearing your incessant snoring."

Tony playfully scoffs, "Um, your snores aren't exactly anything to brag about, _dear_."

"Yet you still manage to sleep at night."

"Only twelve percent of the time."

They both giggle as Tony makes his way over to Pepper. He sits down next to her and they drink their coffee in comfortable silence. 

Well, to Pepper it's comfortable silence. To Tony, it's growing anxiety for what he eventually has to do.

Actually tell her what happened. 

Last night, after... _that_ , the man was dead set on pressing charges. But now that he's really thinking about it, maybe it's not a good idea, after all.

It's obvious that the news would get out. No matter how discreet he'd try to be, some asshole reporter would somehow get the scoop and they'd spread it like wildfire. 

And, as much as the man hates to admit it, he does feel that underlying tone of embarrassment. 

He's Tony Stark, he's "Earth's Best Defender", for crying out loud. He fought alongside the greatest heroes in the world, and he let himself be overpowered by a woman, a fellow average human being.

And that's another reason why Tony is so hesitant to press charges: he was harassed by a _woman_. If he came forward with that, he'd be the biggest laughingstock in the country, maybe even the world. Stark Industries would be a joke. 

_Iron Man_ would be a joke.

So it's probably best to just leave it alone and move on. Everything will be fine, he knows that Peter won't say anything and Pepper doesn't ever have to know.

It's a win-win.

But then Tony thinks about the flipside of that coin: what if he sees that woman again? She wouldn't try it a second time...would she? And what if she does try to come forward with a bogus rape accusation? All she has to do is tell one reporter and daytime television would be interrupted with a "Special News Report" that Iron Man is actually a rapist.

The hero feels a shiver filter through him. He can't imagine all the hell that would come with that.

He can't put his family and friends through that.

_Shit…._

He has to tell Pepper.

He has to do something before Lindsay has the chance to do something first.

 _Lindsay._

Tony never thought that a name could ever sound so much like acid. If he ever has a daughter, he'd rather get sucked back into the wormhole than give her that name.

Now, the question is: _how_ is he going to tell Pepper?

She is literally sitting right next to him, he could just rip off the hypothetical band-aid and say it. 

He looks up at her. She's sipping her coffee while scrolling through her phone, completely unaware of how much her husband wants to crawl under a rock and live out the rest of his days as a recluse. 

Tony stares back down at his now empty coffee mug. She's right there, why can't he just fucking say it?

The man decides to get a refill first. He wants the unnecessary caffeine to really flow through his veins, treating coffee as almost like a weird sort of comfort. 

The logical part of the genius's brain knows that getting a refill is a bad idea because coffee and oncoming anxiety don't mix, but his want for the hot beverage wins out.

As he walks back over to the coffee pot, he realizes that it's barely seven a.m. He doesn't have to tell Pepper _right_ this second. He could wait until later on in the day, after he makes a decision on what to do next. He doesn't even have to tell her today, he thinks.

Yeah, that's it, he could just...procrastinate telling her, like how Peter always procrastinates writing school papers. Yeah…that's a good idea, right?

Tony is about to grab hold of the pot to pour himself another cup when his thoughts are interrupted by Pepper, "Oh, how're you feeling, by the way?"

Her husband looks up at her in confusion, "Huh?"

Pepper looks up from her phone, "Are you feeling better? Happy told me Peter said you weren't feeling well last night and you wanted to come home. Is everything okay?"

_God bless that munchkin._

"Oh...yeah-yeah I'm...feeling a little better," he pours himself some coffee while he thinks of a lie. He puts the pot down when he's done, picks up his mug, and he turns back to her, "Yeah, something didn't agree with me and I wanted to get home before it got any worse." His anxiety grows and he starts rambling, "Y'know, I think it was the shrimp, I can always tell when shrimp is fresh and those little things definitely didn't come from our waters. They must've come from somewhere overseas or something -"

Pepper is not amused, "Oh, c'mon Tony, I know why you left, I can see right through your bullshit."

Tony can feel his left hand start shaking yet again and he quickly puts down his mug before a dark roast-scented mess happens. 

_There's no way…._

How does she know? Did she see it happen? Or did someone else see it and tell her?

Tony nonchalantly hides his left hand behind his back and leans against the counter. He turns back to his wife who now has a defeated look on her face, "You guys got bored and made up an excuse to leave. I get it."

Her husband lets out a small sigh of relief and mentally berates himself. Of course she doesn't know why they really left and how would she? He then grabs the back of his shirt with his left hand and uses it to try to get the shaking to stop.

Tony shyly scratches the back of his neck with his free hand, "Yeah...ya got us...we were just bored to tears, Pep. So we came home and watched movies until we conked out."

That is partly true. They did watch movies but Tony secretly didn't want to be alone, so he asked the kid to stay with him...Pepper doesn't need to know that.

The woman responds, a hint of bitterness in her tone, "Oh, and I _wasn't_ bored? Why didn't you call me, that would've been a perfect out. But instead, I had to stay there talking about the same shit for another two hours."

Tony immediately feels guilty and he winces, "I'm sorry…."

The businesswoman just sighs in defeat, "No...no, I'm sorry, that was selfish on my part -"

"I was selfish too."

"Can we just agree to let each in on our future bogus excuses?"

Tony snorts and drops his hand from his neck, "Deal."

The couple goes back to comfortable silence. When Pepper looks back down at her phone, that gives Tony an opportunity to grab his coffee and go back to his seat while keeping his still shaking hand hidden.

God, he's such a weakling. How is he a superhero when he can't even get control over his stupid hand?

Tony grabs his coffee and goes to put the defective hand in his pocket when Pepper unexpectedly looks up. Her curious look turns to worry, "Honey, your hand is shaking."

The genius tries to brush it off and he hurries to his seat at the counter, "I know, it's nothing, it's fine."

Pepper turns to Tony when he sits down, "No, it's not, I've been around you long enough to know that it means something's wrong, what's wrong? Is it...you're not having another attack, are you?"

_God, I fucking hope not._

Tony's breathing starts to hitch up. He props his elbows on the counter and he puts his head in his hands.

_Breathe, you fucking idiot, breathe._

Pepper leans over and rubs soothing circles into her husband's back. The act does help some, but the shaking in that damn hand doesn't falter.

Tony's anxiety then turns into anger and he lifts his head from his hands, "Y'know what? I should just chop the hand off and build a new one, 'cuz this one's done nothing but piss me off."

The woman is shocked at the change in behavior and moves her hand from his back, "Tony -"

"I probably don't even need to do that. I mean, I'm right-handed, and this one just dangles anyway, so I could just replace it with a hook or go the fucking 'Edward Scissorhands' route -"

" _Tony_!"

The man stops talking and his gaze goes to the barely drunk second cup of coffee. He's getting worked up again so he takes more deep breaths to calm down.

Pepper scoots her stool closer to Tony. She starts rubbing circles into his back again and her other hand is comfortingly rubbing her husband's right arm, phone and drink forgotten, "Babe, what the hell is going on?"

Tony's anger transitions back into anxiety, "Nothing, nothing, I'm sorry, I just...woke up on the wrong side of the bed, I guess."

"That's a bullshit lie, even for you."

_Shit…._

Last night is screwing with him more than he thought it would. His skin is crawling despite his wife's comforting touches, and getting a second shower sounds like an _amazing_ idea right now.

The couple hears an unexpected small voice in the background, "Is everything okay?"

They turn to see Peter worriedly standing in the doorway, also clad in pajamas and an adorable case of bedhead.

Pepper answers, "He's not feeling very well, sweetie."

Tony gives the boy a look that hopefully says, "I haven't told her yet." Peter gets it and responds with a look of understanding. The spiderling then goes to sit on the other side of him.

As Peter is walking over, Pepper turns back to her husband, "I just wanna help you. It's not like you to get so worked up this early in the morning."

Peter sits down and scoots his stool closer to Tony. He rests his head on his father figure's upper arm and whispers, even though he knows Pepper can clearly hear him, "I can tell her if you want...I don't mind."

Tony gives him a grateful smile and kisses the top of his head, "Thank you...but I gotta do this, bud."

The teen grabs his mentor's trembling hand and squeezes in comfort. Tony immediately squeezes back.

Pepper sees their interaction and now has a fearful look in her eyes, "Tell me what? You guys are scaring me, what the hell are you talking about?"

_Time to rip off that band-aid._

Tony takes a deep breath and finally starts, "We _were_ bored last night...but that's not why we left."

Pepper lets go of her husband and settles back into her stool, "O...kay...so, you lied to me."

Tony aches for his wife's touch, but he doesn't say anything. Peter chimes in, "He wasn't ready to tell you."

The man softly shushes him and uses his free hand to move some hair away from the kid's eyes, "It's okay, buddy."

Pepper continues looking at them in confusion. She lets any bitterness dissipate when she sees how hesitant her husband is in telling this story. What the fuck could have possibly happened?

Tony's gaze goes to his mug and stays there, "Peter went to the bathroom and while he was gone, a woman...came onto me...it was obvious what she wanted…."

Pepper's eyebrows furrow. She tries her best to not let any anger show, "Really?"

“Yeah….”

The woman smiles to herself. It’s not a genuine smile, but one that people put on in order to refrain from blowing a gasket, “So...what’s her name?”

Tony winces, “Lindsay...Overton,” he’s certainly never going to forget her now. The name makes his skin start crawling again and he squeezes his kid’s hand to keep himself grounded.

Pepper is seething, but she doesn’t stop smiling, “Okay... _great_ ….” She then starts typing up a storm on her phone.

Both heroes look at her in confusion. Tony asks, “Honey...what are you doing?”

“Nothing that you need to worry about.”

The mentor-protege duo look at each other in even more confusion.

There are a few seconds of silence other than the sound of Pepper’s fingers tapping on her phone. Peter squeezes his father figure’s bicep with his free hand, subtly encouraging the man to continue.

Tony clears his throat, making his wife look up from her phone. She sees how tense her husband is, “You're not done, are you?”

The man solemnly shakes his head. He takes a deep breath and squeezes his kid’s hand even more, “She...she...when I told her to go the fuck away, she uh...gave me an ultimatum.” 

Peter hears his mentor’s heartbeat rapidly increase and he wraps his free arm around the man’s bicep. His head is still rested on that same muscle.

Pepper raises an eyebrow in confusion, “What kind of ultimatum?”

Tony swallows a lump in his throat and stares back at the mug in shame, “She said...she said I had to give her what she wanted or...she would scream at everyone there that I...that I...r-raped her.”

The hero hears the sound of a thud and he flinches. He looks and sees that Pepper had dropped her phone on the counter in pure shock. She can’t seem to wrap her mind around what she just heard, “What…?”

“I didn’t wanna do it, my God, I didn’t want to do it, but...I didn’t know what else to do….”

Pepper looks like she’s about to cry. She tightly grabs onto her husband’s shoulder, “She...she, um...did she -”

Tony cuts her off, fully knowing what kind of question she was going to ask, “No! Nothing happened, I swear. This guy,” he nudges his protege, making the kid tentatively smile, “Stepped in and saved the day.”

Peter chimes in, “I ruined her dress.”

The mechanic smiles, “Yeah, he ruined her dress, it was great.”

Pepper sighs in relief and uses her free hand to wipe a few tears from her eyes, “Thank God. I’m...I’m so sorry, oh my God, I should’ve been there -”

Tony quickly reassures her, “No, no no no no, baby,” he grabs her hand with his free one, “Please don’t be sorry, it wasn’t your fault, I should’ve...done something -”

She cuts him off, “No, don’t do that to yourself please, Tony. It wasn’t your fault either.”

Peter is glad to hear his hero’s rapid heartbeat lessening and says, “Like I said, she didn’t give you a choice, that’s not your fault.”

The man feels shame creep up on him again, “Guys, guys, look, thank you for this, but I’m Iron Man...I should’ve gotten out of that.”

Pepper moves her hand from her husband's shoulder to cup his cheek. She locks eyes with him before she responds, “How would you have, then? It sounded like there was no way out. It was a lose-lose situation, Tony, no one would’ve known what to do, no matter the superpowers or fancy tech." She lovingly caresses his cheek with her thumb, "Please don’t beat yourself up about this.” 

Tony leans into the touch and sighs in defeat, “Okay, okay, it wasn’t my fault...but I still feel...weak.”

His wife squeezes her hand that’s in his, “Tony, she cornered you, and she took advantage of you. That makes her the weak one, not you.”

The hero looks at her and squeezes her hand, "Thank you…" he then sighs in frustration, " But I don't know what to do now."

Pepper moves her hand from her husband's face and starts comfortingly rubbing his other arm again. She then scoffs, "Put that bitch behind bars, that's what we're gonna do."

"But it's not that simple. Everyone's gonna know, Pep, I'm not ready for that, and no one's gonna take me seriously. And it's not like there's any evidence."

The woman hesitates before she responds, "It's not gonna be easy and it's definitely gonna be messy, but I'd much rather us do something before that piece of shit has the chance to try and ruin your life. And this _will_ be taken seriously, okay? If anyone takes this lightly just because you're a man, then they'll have _me_ to deal with. I'm sorry, babe, but we have to do this."

Peter softly adds, "You may not have evidence but you _do_ have a witness."

Tony looks down at the teenager, "Nope, uh-uh, I'm not bringing you into this, no fucking way."

Peter lifts his head from his mentor's arm for the first time since he sat down, "But you're not bringing me into it; I'm jumping in, voluntarily."

The man tries to be firm, "Pete, no -"

"Pete, _yes_."

Pepper snorts at the argument, "You're not changing his mind, Tony, he has too much of _you_ in him to do such a thing."

Tony shakes his head in disbelief, gaze still on the kid, "You'd really do that?"

The teen fondly rolls his eyes, " _Duh_ , you'd do the same for me if the shoes were switched."

Tony lets go of their grip and grabs the tyke's shoulder. His voice goes soft, "In a heartbeat...you sure you wanna do this?"

Peter shyly nods his head, "Positive."

_What did I do to deserve this kid?_

The genius lets go of his wife's grip and pulls his kid into a bone-crushing hug. Peter hugs him right back.

The man pulls away after a few seconds and turns to Pepper, who's vigorously tapping her phone again, "So...what's first, _boss_?"

"Don't worry, I got this."

_What did I ever do to deserve her? ___

Both heroes give her a confused look. Tony then jokingly says, "Should we be scared?" 

Pepper smiles, gaze still locked on her phone. This smile is genuine, but her husband swears that there is a mischievous look in her eyes, "Nope...but _she_ should be." 


	5. Peter Wearing Tony's Sweatshirt

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> HAPPY PRIDE MONTH, EVERYONE!!! 💜💜💜  
> How 'bout some Ace!Peter for ya? 😁

There is something about Tony's sweatshirts that Peter just absolutely loves.

He comes across his first one while in the lab one day after school. Tony typically keeps the thermostat at like sixty degrees or something ridiculous, so the tyke is almost always cold. He’s about to go grab his jacket from his backpack when he sees a sweatshirt draped over one of the chairs. Without even thinking, he puts it on and continues tinkering. 

Tony looks up a few minutes later and melts at the sight of his intern wearing one of his Stark Industries sweaters. The clothing practically swallowed the kid, to the point where said kid had to roll up his sleeves in order to continue his project.

Peter gets that feeling of being watched and looks up from the table. He sees his mentor's amused smile and blushes in embarrassment, "Uh...sorry, I uh...hope you don't mind…?"

Tony softly giggles, "Squirt, no need to apologize, I don't care. I'm just jealous that you wear it better than me," Peter blushes again at the compliment, "You can keep it if you want. I have like a million of them, anyway."

The tyke's eyes light up, "Really?"

Tony will never not love how easily excited his kid can be, "Really."

The kid's heart immediately fills with warmth, "Thanks, Mr. Stark."

And that's how it starts.

Peter wore that sweater everywhere he went. Not only was it comfortable, but it also gave him a sense of security. Whether he’s recuperating from a rough night on patrol or waking up from a nightmare, the teen would take a whiff of his Iron Man-scented sweatshirt and just know that everything will be okay. 

-

Peter comes across the second sweatshirt completely on accident. 

He and Tony were going to some kind of conference for Stark Industries and Peter needed a tie, so the mechanic told him to grab one from his dresser drawer.

The spiderling apparently opened the wrong drawer because in this one, there are piles of old clothes that he has never seen the man wear before.

Among those clothes is an MIT sweatshirt that looks so old that the print has faded. Peter pulls out the sweater and takes a whiff.

The tyke can't help but smile; it smells just like Tony.

He finds the drawer with the ties and takes one, along with a new - well, new to _him_ \- sweatshirt.

Tony doesn't have a clue about the “thievery” until they get back from the conference. They change into pajamas and curl up on the sofa. That's when the man takes notice, "Now, where didya find _this_?" The hero grabs his kid's wrists and spreads them apart to get a good look at the shirt. The man smiles at the nostalgia, "I haven't thought about this one in years."

Peter sheepishly grins, "You should, it's really soft. I, uh...found it earlier today when I was getting a tie. Is...is that okay?"

Tony drops the kid's arms, "Of course, bud. I mean, you're going there anyway so might as well start getting a feel for it."

The teen smiles and he curls into his father figure's side, "So _technically_ , this is educational."

Tony snickers at that and wraps his arm around his kid's shoulders. The rest of their night is spent watching TV until they inevitably fall asleep.

-

After that, Peter goes out of his way to acquire more of his hero's sweatshirts. 

Every time he stays with Tony, he'll go back home with another sweater, designs ranging from an old SI logo to solid colors like navy blue. Some of the older ones actually fit the tyke pretty well, but the newer sweatshirts are so bulky that Peter looks like he weighs twenty pounds more than he actually does. But they're so soft and comfortable and _warm_ that he doesn't care a bit.

Every time the man catches him, Tony would playfully roll his eyes and say something like, "'Sweater Thief' strikes again, huh?" The teenager just looks so damn adorable with those clothes that it's impossible for the genius to be annoyed at him.

One Saturday afternoon, Peter is on his way to the lab when he decides to take a detour to Tony's walk-in closet and scope out for any more of those wonderfully fluffy articles of clothing. He has five of them now, but there's no such thing as too many hero-scented sweaters.

The spider-boy bypasses the dress shirts, slacks, jeans, and the like, and finds that he's having a hard time spotting another sweatshirt to "borrow."

Maybe he ought to start giving them back, he thinks.

He opens a drawer and after one glance, he slams it closed as fast as he can. He can feel his cheeks heat up in mortification...he really didn't mean to open Iron Man's underwear drawer. 

Peter then realizes that he's completely invading his hero's privacy. How did he not notice this before? 

The kid is about to end the search altogether but then decides to take a peek in the other drawers. No one typically has more than one underwear drawer, he figures, so he should be in the clear.

The next two down don’t have anything worth "borrowing." He then opens the bottom drawer, feeling a little let down at this point. He's scanning through the boring white T-shirts and ugly khakis when he finally sees something of interest at the bottom of the pile. He pulls out the piece of clothing to inspect. It's not a sweater this time, but a hoodie, and a comfortable-feeling one, at that.

The hoodie is solid black in color except for a small symbol on the right side. The symbol is slightly bigger than a quarter and located a little higher than where a breast pocket would be. It consists of four small test tubes, all filled halfway with different-colored liquids. The colors of said liquids are black, grey, white, and purple, respectively. 

Peter's eyebrows narrow in confusion. He sits down on the floor and stares at that damn symbol for about a full minute. 

Is he seeing things? He's got to be….

Peter blinks several times to get his eyes to refocus. The colors never changed and he takes in a breath of surprise.

The colors on this hoodie are the same colors as the asexual flag.

But the flag, itself, isn't on the clothing; it's just the colors that _make up_ the flag.

It's perfect for a closeted asexual person to wear.

It's perfect for _Peter_ to wear.

He came out to Tony just a few months ago and the man is still the only one who knows. Not even Ned or May know.

Tony was wonderful and supportive when he told him, and he knows that his other loved ones will react the same way.

But he's just not ready for that yet. 

Peter continues staring at the hoodie in utter disbelief. Did his mentor really go out if his way to get this for him? And why did he hide it so well? Maybe the man changed his hiding spot when Peter started stealing his sweatshirts and didn't want to ruin the surprise. 

The teen then feels awful, all of a sudden. He just ruined the surprise. Tony was obviously waiting for a specific time to give this to him. He really should've dropped this whole thing when he opened the underwear drawer. 

Peter keeps on staring at that hoodie, making sure to really feel the fabric through his fingers. He unconsciously rubs his thumb over the test tubes; something about the texture of that symbol makes his heart fill with joy, with... _validity_. 

Despite ruining the surprise, the tyke can't help but smile. He hugs the clothing to his chest like he's a little kid hugging a plushie. He can't believe that freakin' _Iron Man_ actually bought him this.

Peter goes to put the hoodie back in its spot but he changes his mind at the last minute. The cat's already out of the bag, so there's no point in pretending that he didn't see it. 

He stands up and puts on the hoodie over his shirt. Like some of the others, it's so big and bulky that it swallows him whole, but isn't that the best way to wear these clothes?

The teenager tentatively walks into the lab, somewhat afraid as to how his mentor will react. Said mentor doesn’t look up from his project, “About damn time, squirt. I thought you got lost or something.”

Peter nervously giggles, “Nope, just, uh...went to the bathroom first.”

Tony hums an affirmative and continues upgrading his suit. The kid goes to his table and starts mimicking the symbol on his hoodie by making up some web fluid.

Several minutes go by in silence. The mechanic looks at his mentee with worry because this guy is normally anything but quiet. The kid _seems_ fine, but he asks anyway, “Everything okay, bud? Cat got your tongue?”

Peter tenses up and thinks that it might be best to just come clean. He takes a deep breath and turns to face his hero, “ _Pleeeease_ don’t be mad at me, Mr. Stark.”

Tony raises an eyebrow in confusion and walks over to the spider-boy. When he gets to about an arm’s length of the kid, he takes in a breath of pure shock.

The teen puts his hands in the hoodie's pocket and immediately starts apologizing, “I’m sorry, I just, I found it, and I really really liked it. I didn’t mean to snoop through your -”

“Where did you find that?” The man is standing still as a fucking statue. 

Peter is caught off-guard by that question, “Um...in one of your drawers...in your closet. I, uh, wanted to get another sweatshirt and I saw this and I really liked it for, uh...obvious reasons….”

Tony takes a couple of steps closer to his intern and gently grabs some of the fabric to get a good look at the symbol, his face unreadable.

The kid is intimidated at how reserved his mentor is. For the first time since this whole “sweater thieving” started, the genius isn’t joking or laughing about it. 

Man...did Peter really fuck up this badly?

Tony lets go of the hoodie and takes a step back. His voice is just above a whisper, "I can't believe you found that."

The teen's heart is filled with so much guilt, "I'm so, _so_ sorry. I-I didn't mean to snoop, but I really love your sweaters and I've never seen one like this before and I, uh...got excited." Peter can feel his cheeks blush again, "Wh-Where didya get this?"

Tony looks on with that same unreadable expression. After a few seconds, he takes a deep breath and answers, voice a little louder than before, "Rhodey gave it to me a few years ago…."

Peter lets those words sink in and when they do, his jaw drops to the floor. 

Tony didn't buy this for him.

This hoodie _belongs_ to Tony.

So that means….

Peter blurts out before he even thinks, "You're asexual?"

The man crosses his arms and covers his eyes with one of his hands. He looks ashamed, which Peter feels awful for.

After a few seconds, Tony drops his hand and gives his kid a shy smile, "Yeah, kid...I'm asexual, just like you."

The spiderling's eyes widen in shock, but then he feels excitement filter through him. They have yet another thing in common.

They're _both_ asexual.

The teen's grin grows a mile wide. This is so... _cool_. This is something that they could bond over and poke fun at.

But then Peter really thinks about what his mentor just said. 

He vaguely remembers watching the news stories as a little kid. The stories about Tony Stark and what scandals the "playboy" had gotten into that week. He didn't understand what scandals they were talking about until May told him when he got older.

So...are those stories even true? If so, then how is Tony asexual? Maybe he's on the sex-positive side of the spectrum? One can be asexual and still like sex; the kid, himself, just happens to not.

The tyke really wants to ask more questions, but he has already damn near forced the man to come out and he doesn't want to make his father figure any more uncomfortable than he probably already is.

Tony smirks, to the kid's confusion, and walks back over to his table. He then says, "Go ahead, kiddo, I know you're dying to ask."

Peter follows him to the table. Despite having a million questions, he says only one word, "How?"

"How am I asexual, despite the reputation?"

The teenager shyly nods his head. He sits in a chair and props his elbows on the table before resting his chin on his fists.

Tony's smile grows, which surprises the young hero. He doesn't look that upset anymore, so maybe that's a good sign, Peter thinks.

The genius fidgets with some robotic parts that are on the table. His gaze stays locked on those parts when he answers, "Well, for one, those stories aren't true. I never had sex with any of those people...never had sex with anyone, in fact."

Peter's eyes widen again. That was certainly unexpected, "Then, how didya...why did the reporters always say you did?"

Tony shrugs, "'Cuz I told 'em to."

Now the tyke is even more confused.

The man lets out a deep breath, "Back in those days, people would see me flirt with a random person at some party or gala or something. Then, they would see me take them upstairs or take them to my limo to go to wherever I was staying at…. No one knows what happens when the doors close but everyone always assumes the obvious."

Peter raises an eyebrow, "But...nothing actually happened?"

The hero actually starts to snicker, "Correct...instead, I would pay them to _say_ that stuff happened, then they'd tell some nosy reporter. Sometimes that wasn't even necessary because paparazzi would take pictures of us 'waltzing' upstairs and boom, they already got their story for the week. The 'material' did write itself, I'll give 'em that."

"What did you guys do if you didn't do... _that_?"

"Talked, watched TV, I've even had Happy deliver pizza on occasion."

Peter shakes his head in disbelief. He drops one of his arms on the table and moves his head to rest on the other palm, "Mr. Stark...none of this makes any fucking sense."

Tony busts out laughing and the teen follows suit. When they calm down, Tony sits in a chair across from his mentee, still fidgeting with some robotic part. The mechanic then says, "Yeah...all of that does sound dumb, doesn't it?"

Peter nods his head and switches back to resting his head on his fists, "Why did you waste your time doing this?"

"Well…" Tony pauses to get his thoughts together before continuing, "It was actually a ruse to help the company."

The kid raises an eyebrow, "How does all of that _help_ a company?"

"Ever heard the phrase, 'There's no such thing as bad publicity'?"

The kid nods his head, still confused. 

"That statement is one of the truest ones out there, especially in my world. Whenever there was something new about me - good or bad - in the press, sales always skyrocketed. Even the people who _hated_ my guts for what they thought I was doing, they were still talking about me, and more talk equals more sales."

Peter is starting to understand it a little more, "It sounds like something people in Hollywood would do."

The genius snorts, "Not only have people in Hollywood done it, they're doing it as we speak, and they will continue doing it until the end of time. For them, it's all just another Tuesday." 

The child then frowns, "It sounds tiring, though. Like...did you have any fun, did you...have _time_ to have any fun?"

"Oh yeah, trust me, kid, that schtick only lasted like an hour, tops. I wasn't on a first-name basis with the bartenders and card dealers for nothing."

Peter half-smiles at the humor. His curiosity gets the best of him and he says, “How did you find out, that you’re, uh...asexual?” He then backtracks, “If you don't mind...and stuff?”

Tony softly grins and lets go of the part. He rests his cheek on one of his fists, “I don’t mind, now that the secret’s out. I guess it was just something I always knew but for years I never really _knew_...does that make sense?”

The child completely gets it, “Yeah, like you knew you didn’t wanna do it, but you didn’t know there was a word to describe it.”

“Exactly. Sex was just...something that didn't appeal to me, never understood why people made it such a big deal. I remember being a teenager and thinking, ‘Maybe I’ll wanna do it when I’m older.' Well, I’m in my forties now, and that feeling hasn’t changed.”

Peter’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. He drops his arms and crosses them on the table, “Wait...if you were never interested, then how did this whole ‘playboy’ thing even start?”

Tony looks down at his parts in embarrassment and copies the kid by crossing his own arms on the table, “Um...not one of my best moments, honestly. It started because the first time it happened, I actually almost _did_ do it.”

The teen’s eyes widen, “Oh….”

“Yeah...I was a teenager, not much older than you. Me and Rhodey were at some party while we were at MIT and I was talking to this girl. I could tell by the way she was looking at me that I knew what she wanted.”

A strike of fear filters through Peter, “Wait...she didn't -”

“No, it was all one hundred percent consensual, I promise. I followed her upstairs to one of the bedrooms. I wasn’t interested...but I’ve never done it before, so I thought that this was as good a time as any to...see what all the fuss was about.”

“But you told me you’ve never done it….”

“Yup,” the man chuckles to himself, “I backed out before we even got started.”

Peter smiles, “I’m glad you did. It, uh...it didn’t sound like it’d be fun.”

“Yeah, me too, bud. But...I didn’t want everyone to know that I didn’t do anything - dignity and all that shit - so I gave the girl a couple hundred bucks and told her to tell everyone that I was the 'best she ever had.’ Well, she did, and the press caught on; and the following week, sales went up thirty-five percent.”

The teenager is confused again, “Publicity is stupid.”

The genius snorts at the comment, “Yeah...yeah, it is. I didn’t plan to keep doing that, by the way; when I backed out, I knew, then, that I didn’t wanna do it like everyone else did. I was just gonna let myself be, but Stane - who never knew that I didn’t do anything - talked me into doing it again...and again and again and again. So I kept it up until this guy happened.” Tony points at the Iron Man suit, “And then when Stane...met his demise, I didn’t wanna bother with that anymore, so I stopped.”

"And no one ever found out?"

"Nope...being rich _does_ have its advantages."

“Damn...your life is crazy.”

“Understatement of the fucking century, kiddo.”

Peter chuckles and has another thought, “You’re married to Pepper...is she -”

The genius smiles, “Nope...unlike us, she _does_ like sex.”

Tony sees the hopeful look in the tyke's eyes and says what he knows his protege is thinking, “She doesn’t care...never has.”

The spiderling cheekily grins, “So, when you said that I’ll find someone, you weren’t just saying that to make me feel better?”

“Pete, if a hot mess like me can find someone, then you can _definitely_ find someone. There’s not a doubt in my mind.”

Peter’s cheeks flush with the good kind of embarrassment, “Thanks...and sorry I kinda...made you tell me….”

Tony brushes it off, “You didn’t make me, honestly. I’ve actually been wanting to tell you for a while, especially after you came out to me, but...the timing was never right, y’know?”

The mentee nods his head, “It took me _so_ long to tell you.”

“And I’m glad you did,” the man then points at the hoodie, “You can keep that if you want. Wearing stuff like that was never my thing.”

Peter’s eyes light up again and he looks down to admire the test tubes, “Really?!”

Tony fondly rolls his eyes, “ _Duh_ , I can get you one that’s in your size if you’d rather have that.”

The kid looks back up at him. He takes a couple of seconds to think about it before shaking his head, “Nah, this one’s comfy, and...I like that it used to be yours,” he can feel his cheeks blush again and he fidgets with the fabric, “Thank you, Mr. Stark.”

Tony reaches across the table to ruffle his kid’s hair, “Thank _you_ , Mr. Parker.”

The child leans into the touch and lets it consume him like he has done with all of those other sweaters.

Peter then figures out why he loves wearing his father figure's clothes so damn much.

Because he has a piece of Tony with him everywhere he goes. 

And another thing that Peter knows for sure.

He is never taking this one off.


	6. Fluff

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Featuring Ace!Peter :D

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So, I'm not off the Ace!Peter bandwagon (never will be tbh), so here's a little tooth-rotting, fluffy ficlet for ya!
> 
> Big thanks to Leah ([Buckets_Of_Stars](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Buckets_Of_Stars)) for coming up with this idea 💜

"Hey...Mr. Stark? Can I, uh...can I ask you something?"

"Always, kid, what's up?"

The mentor-protege duo are in the lab, standing on either side of a work table with the Iron Spider suit in between them. They are working out some glitches in said suit, and Peter takes this opportunity to ask Tony something that has been on his mind for the past few days.

Peter swallows a lump in his throat, "Um...y'know how Captain Marvel can change the colors of her suit?"

Tony is fiddling with a suit part, unaware of the nervousness sweating out of his intern, "Yeah?"

The teen tentatively scratches the back of his neck, "Well, um...uh…," that's when the man looks up.

The mechanic notices the apprehension and says, "Y'know you can say anything you want to and I won't judge you, right?"

Peter tightly grabs onto one of the arms of his suit, "Yeah, I know, I know, I'm just…."

Tony smiles in what he hopes looks like encouragement, "Just spit it out, bud. What do you wanna know about Carol's suit?"

The teen takes in a breath, "Well, I was, uh...I was wondering if it's possible to, uh...change the colors...on _my_ suit?"

The man raises his eyebrows in surprise, "You don't like the red and blue anymore?"

Peter's eyes widen, "No! No, I still do, it's not that, I promise. I still want to, uh, change them back to the OG colors when I want to."

"OG colors?"

"The original colors."

"Oh...why didn't you just say 'original'?"

The child groans, " _Mr. Staaaark_."

Tony playfully rolls his eyes, "Y'know I'm not hip on the 'Gen-Z' lingo, so don't be mad at _me_."

Peter crosses his arms in front of his chest and covers his eyes with one of his hands, "You are _so_ not cool."

"Yet you still hang out with me for some reason."

The teen can't help but laugh. He then drops his hand and puts it back in the crossing position, "Okay, okay, but...can that happen? Temporarily changing the colors of my suit?"

Tony looks down at the suit and thinks about the question. After a few seconds, he says, "Yeah, I think so, we just need to find the right part. Do you know what colors you want to change it to, or do you still need to decide?"

The spiderling's eyes brighten at the confirmation. He then shyly bites his lip, "Um...I _do_ know what colors I want."

The genius gives his kid a confused look. Why does the tyke look so embarrassed about this? He then responds, "Well don't keep me in suspense, kiddo. If you wanna change it to pink, I don't care."

Peter snickers, "No, I don't want it pink, but that wouldn't be a bad look, honestly. I, uh, wanna make it...purple."

"Okay...just purple?"

The teen tightens his grip on his arms, "No, um, I also want...black, and...white...aaaaaaand grey…? Please?"

Tony takes a couple of seconds to register what the kid said. When he does, he walks around the table to said kid and gives him an amused look, "You could've just told me that you wanted your suit to have ace colors."

Peter winces in embarrassment. He turns to face his mentor, "I know, I just, uh...I didn't know how'd you react. And what if you didn't like the idea?"

Tony grabs hold of one of the teen's shoulders and squeezes in reassurance, "Pete, I'm gonna support you, no matter what. If you wanna flaunt who you are, who am I to stop you?"

The child then relaxes and drops his arms. He can't help but blush, "Mr. Staaaark…."

"I know, I'm getting too mushy, aren't I?"

Peter can feel his cheeks flush but it's not from embarrassment, "Never."

Tony smiles and ruffles his kid's hair, "We'll make it work."

A few days later, the young hero finds himself proudly swinging through Queens while clad in purple, black, white, and grey.

Peter is more confident in himself than he's been in years.


	7. Bullying

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trigger warning for mentions of bullying and jokes suggesting a relationship between a minor and a grown man.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dedicating this one to Leah (Buckets-Of-Stars), HAPPY BIRTHDAY AND CONGRATS ON REACHING 4000 FOLLOWERS ON TUMBLR!!! I hope your birthday is as wonderful as you 💖
> 
> She requested Hurt Peter Parker and Protective Tony leaving in the middle of an Avengers meeting to go check on him, and ya darn tootin' that I'm gonna deliver, so ENJOY!!!! 😊
> 
> Idea loosely inspired by a scene from the movie _A Walk to Remember_

Whoever decided to schedule a meeting on a Friday deserves to be shot, Tony thinks.

He is currently in a conference room at SHIELD Headquarters with the rest of the team, going over rules and regulations for what feels like the millionth time this month. Seriously, why do these meetings even exist? All they do is talk about the same shit anyway. 

Tony looks at his watch for about the fifth time in the last half hour. There's not much else to do except pretend to listen and count down the minutes until he can pick up his intern at three o'clock.

The man glances at the rest of the team. He takes solace in the fact that they all look about as bored as he is. Except for Steve, of course, that guy is as attentive as any "Teacher's Pet" would be, and it makes the billionaire roll his eyes.

Tony then starts daydreaming about his plans for the weekend. His kid is spending the night, so their time is typically spent watching movies, lab time, and making sure the tyke eats enough for his enormous appetite to be satisfied. 

The hero can't help but smile. He never expected this "weekend thing" to become a routine, but he wouldn't trade it for anything.

Tony's thoughts are interrupted by the vibration of his phone in his pocket. He's actually supposed to have his phone off during meetings, but does anyone actually follow that rule?

Well...Steve...Steve most definitely does.

He pulls out his phone and checks the notification. His eyebrows narrow when he sees that it's an alert from FRIDAY. 

_Peter Parker's distress levels have drastically increased. His heart rate indicates that he is on the verge of an anxiety attack._

Tony's eyes widen. The kid _is_ still at school, right? What the fuck happened?

He has to go over there. The tyke wouldn't react like this unless something was seriously wrong...right?

The hero decides to not dwell on his thoughts and just go with his gut. He interrupts the speaker mid-sentence, "Gotta go, something's come up." He gets out of his seat and rushes to the door before anyone can argue.

Tony had just left the room when he feels someone grab his shoulder. He turns around to see that that person is Captain "Spangles", "Look, just text me the rest, this can't wait."

"Are you kidding me? This could mean life or death someday, and you're flaking out to, what, go out partying?"

The genius rolls his eyes; he's really not in the mood for another of Steve's "greater good" speeches, "I wish I was going ‘partying’, but unlike this waste-of-time 'soiree', I actually have more important shit to do."

Tony walks hurriedly to the elevator and presses the "down" button. He then hears Cap yell out, "What the hell could be more important than an upcoming mission?"

"Literally anything else."

_The kid...always the kid._

The mechanic ignores any additional remarks from his "goody-two-shoes" teammate and walks into the elevator when it opens. Either a few seconds or a decade later, Tony can't tell, he gets in his car and tells FRIDAY to track his mentee's watch.

According to the AI, Peter is still at the school and his heart rate has increased even more in the last few minutes. That makes Tony feel like he's about to have an anxiety attack of his own.

The hero knows that this is the definition of "helicopter parent." Everyone will probably laugh when they find out that he went through all this trouble just to check on a teenager that's not even biologically his.

But he knows how Peter gets when he has anxiety. Is it sensory overload, is his spidey sense flaring up and he can't change into his suit, or did something else happen? 

Tony can't shake this feeling, this feeling that something is _wrong_...he just can't ignore it.

The mechanic gets to the school in another twenty minutes, which feels like a whole damn lifetime to him. He ignores the half dozen or so calls from the team - no doubt wanting to know where he went - and power-walks into the school. 

There aren't any students in the hallway but he hears commotion from a set of double doors, leading Tony to guess that it must be lunchtime. He follows the tracker on his phone and it doesn't take him to the cafeteria, but instead to what looks like a janitor's closet.

The man narrows his eyes at his phone. This can't be right, is the tracker glitching up or something?

Tony is about to walk off when he hears a sob coming from the other side of the closet door. He then hears a voice that doesn't belong to the kid, "Peter, I don't know what to do, just please, try to calm down, _please_. Look, everything’s gonna be fine, everyone knows it’s bullshit, but dude, you gotta calm down."

Tony slowly opens the door and his heart breaks at the sight before him.

Peter is sitting on the floor, arms hugging his knees with his forehead against them. The man can't tell if the kid is sobbing, having a hard time breathing, or both. Another teenager is sitting next to his intern and comforting him by rubbing his back. What's that guy's name again? Chad? Ted? 

Tony softly clears his throat and it makes both boys look up. Peter doesn't look like he's all there, mindset-wise, but the other kid's eyes widen in shock.

The friend speaks up first, eyes still wide, "Oh. My. God...Mr. Stark?!"

Tony half-smiles at the starstruck teenager. He then closes the door and kneels down to their eye level. His gaze goes right to his kid, whose forehead is back in the position it was before. He makes sure his tone is soft, "Peter? Can you hear me?"

Peter's red-rimmed eyes peek over the top of his knees, "Mr. Stark...?"

The man’s half-smile transforms into a full one, "I'm right here, buddy, I'm right here," he turns to the kid's friend, "What's your name again?"

"N-N-Ned…."

The hero points at the friend’s spot on the floor, "Ned, lemme get there, bud."

Ned crawls to the other side of the closet and accidentally knocks over a mop in the process. Tony sits next to Peter and wraps his arm around him. The sobbing child immediately leans into him.

Tony gives soft shushing sounds and assumes the same comforting position that the duo knows all too well: one hand ruffling the hair and the other hand rubbing circles into the kid's back. Peter leans his head on his hero's collar bone and grabs said hero's dress shirt in a death grip.

The man already feels his shirt getting damp with the poor guy's tears, but he doesn't care. The only thing he cares about is what the fuck caused the teen to bawl like this in a school janitor's closet.

Another few minutes pass before Peter finally starts to calm down. Tony gets an alert on his phone from FRIDAY saying that the tyke’s heart rate and distress levels are almost back to normal. The man breathes a sigh of relief at that.

The young hero speaks up, tone quiet and raspy, "How d'ya...how didya know I was here?"

Tony pretends to think about the question before answering with, "Just call it…'mentor's intuition.'"

Peter grunts but half-smiles anyway, "That's bullshit."

Both Tony and Ned snicker at that. Said friend then asks, "Are you okay now?"

The teenager loosens his grip on the shirt and slightly nods his head against his father figure’s chest, "Y-Yeah...yeah I think so."

The genius continues to comfort his kid in the only way he knows how, and Ned stays off to the side to let the hero work his "magic."

A few minutes later, Tony asks the million-dollar question, "What happened?"

Peter doesn't say anything, which Tony expected. Ned crawls over and gives the man a balled-up piece of paper before backing back into his spot.

Tony stares at the item in confusion. He then looks down at his kid only to see him look away from his gaze.

_Oh boy._

The hero still has an arm wrapped around the teen's back when he unravels the paper. He gets a good look at the image before him and lets out a breath of absolute horror. 

It's a picture of Tony and the kid. Peter is smiling while bent over at the waist and the genius is standing behind him, also smiling. 

Tony suddenly feels nauseous and he swallows back some bile that he felt crawling up his throat. It makes complete sense why Peter reacted the way he did.

This picture is obviously photoshopped because what Tony is seeing is something that they would never do in a million, _billion_ years. 

In the photo, both of their pants are down, implying that they're in a... _sexual_ position. Some punk-ass kid must've taken a picture of a porno and cropped their faces onto it. 

But the most disturbing part is….

It's _good_ photoshop.

If someone saw this and didn't know who either of them are...they might believe that the picture is real. If someone showed this to a reporter, it would make the six o'clock news faster than anything about the Kardashians would.

Tony tries to not think about those repercussions...his focus is only on the now exhausted teenager huddled next to him. Without even thinking, the man blurts out, "What the fuck?!"

The tyke whispers, "I'm-I'm...I'm sorry, you're gonna be ruined I'm so sorry -"

The hero quickly shushes the kid and squeezes him tightly against his chest. He does his best to not sound angry, "You have nothing to apologize for, okay, it's just a stupid prank. Don’t worry, I'll fix this."

Tony doesn't think that Peter has the energy to say what happened, so he turns to Ned and holds up the paper, "What is this?"

The friend swallows a lump in his throat, "We walked into the lunchroom and everyone just starts laughing at us...well, laughing at _him_ …" Ned takes a couple of seconds before continuing, "Flash walks up to us and says that he ‘believes’ the internship now. When we asked why, he gave us the picture. Everyone got one, Mr. Stark. People were even taking pictures of it on their phones and posting them online, it's like a nightmare...Peter looked like he was about to have a…a 'freak-out', so I ran us out of there and we ended up here."

Peter's voice cracks, "They wouldn't stop laughing...they wouldn't stop laughing at me, Mr. Stark."

_Holy shit…._

Tony shushes the kid again and puts a protective hand back in his hair, "I'm so sorry, I wish I was there." He balls up the paper and puts it in his jacket pocket, "That 'Flash' prick isn't gonna get away with this, I promise."

Peter looks up at his father figure, "But...but you're _famous_ , this'll be everywhere -"

Tony locks eyes with his kid and smiles in reassurance, "No it won't, I'm gonna nip this in the bud, alright?"

The teen then narrows his eyes, "How? You're not gonna like... _kill_ Flash, are you?"

The man snorts at the question, "As enticing as that sounds, no, I'm not gonna kill him." He hears Ned whisper "Damn" from the other side of the room.

Tony continues, "Let's just say that I have ways of making people offers that they just absolutely _cannot_ refuse."

Peter snorts and wraps his arms around his father figure, "Thank you...for coming and stuff…."

The hero squeezes the tyke even more, “Don’t ever mention it, bud, you know I’m always in your corner...or in this case, your closet.”

Both friends giggle at that. The spiderling then says, “Um...Mr. Stark? What happens now?”

Tony deeply sighs, “Now, let’s just focus on getting you guys home, I’ll worry about the rest later.”

Peter squeezes his arms around his father figure, “Can I go home with you?” 

“ _Duh_ , you were already planning to stay with me, anyway. And you’re _so_ much more fun to hang out with than the rest of the team.”

Ned’s eyes bug out, “The _rest_ of the team? Like...like the _Avengers_?”

Tony smirks, “Chill out, kid, they eat their PB&Js just like the rest of us. C’mon, let’s get you outta here before a stampede happens.” Right when he says that the bell rings, indicating that lunch has ended. All three of them mutter "Shit" at the same time.

The sounds of footsteps, locker doors, papers, and laughter flood the hallways. Hearing the students talk about that disgusting photo makes Tony's skin start crawling and he protectively squeezes his kid closer to him. 

They decide to wait and leave when the kids are in class. They try to tune out the jokes and gross remarks but one statement in particular makes Tony's ears perk up.

“I guess Penis and his fatso friend ran off crying to mommy, or in this case... _daddy_.”

That sentence makes Tony clench his fist in anger. It’s not until he hears the laughter after that statement was made that he makes an executive decision.

He gently gets his kid out of his grip and stands up, “I’m gonna fix this.”

Peter looks at his father figure, still sitting on the floor, “Wait, what’re you gonna do?”

Tony doesn’t answer and walks out of the closet. There are hardly any kids in the hallway, so class must be starting again soon, he thinks. 

The mechanic recognizes the laughter and follows the sound to a small group of teenage boys standing in front of some lockers. The one in the center is holding a piece of paper, no doubt admiring the “art.”

The man takes a guess that the teenager in the center is the culprit and says, “So, you’re _Flash_ , huh? What kinda stupid name is that?”

All five of those boys look up and pale at seeing the one and only _Tony freakin' Stark_ standing right in front of them. Once the initial shock dissipates, four of the kids point to the prick in the center, confirming the man’s question.

The bell rings again as Tony steps closer. Behind him, he hears a few hurrying footsteps of students rushing to their classes and the boys take off as well, like they're mice being chased by a cat. The man stops Flash in his tracks and grabs onto his shoulder. Said bully turns around and backs up until he’s against the lockers, fear damn near sweating off of his face.

_Good._

Tony lets go of the punk and snatches the paper from his hands. He pretends to study it and sarcastically says, "Y'know, I'll give kudos where it's due...we _do_ look convincing." 

The man smirks when he hears the teen whimper. He locks eyes with him and holds up the nauseating photo, tone now serious, "So you think this is funny, huh? _Completely_ hilarious, right?"

Flash doesn't say anything, so the hero continues, “I’m not even gonna waste my breath talking about how disgusting this is, but are you aware that this is also _very_ much illegal? If the police get a hold of this, Iron Man could go to jail for this shit.”

The bully still doesn’t say anything, still frozen in fear for what _Iron Man_ might do.

Said hero just continues his one-sided conversation, “But you probably don’t care about that, and I don’t blame you, honestly, I wouldn’t care either.” His tone turns casual, “But...let’s say the police _do_ get a hold of this, because they will, and they believe that it’s real. Then they trace it back to who ‘took’ the picture,” Tony smiles and makes sure his tone is unleashed with sass, “And guess who gets arrested for pornographic paraphernalia?” 

Flash’s eyes widen in terror. Tony wonders if this prick is going to wet himself while standing here.

The man would love to continue tormenting this asshole, but he still has an upset teenager that he needs to tend to. He then says, “Relax, you’re not going to jail, and as much as I would _love_ to squeeze your head like it’s a giant pimple, I’m not gonna kill you.” He sees Flash sigh in relief, “So here’s what we’re gonna do instead: you’re gonna take this piece-of-shit picture," Tony slaps the folded-up paper into the punk's chest, making said punk grab hold of the photo, "And turn yourself in to the principal, and I...will do the rest. Deal?”

The fear filters back through the bully and he talks for the first time since Tony stopped him, “Th-The...rest? The rest of what?”

The mechanic’s smile grows, “Oh, you’ll find out soon enough; what’s life without a little bit of... _mystery_?”

Flash whimpers again and Tony doesn’t give a single flying fuck.

The man then says a low “Now, beat it” and the prick runs off as fast as his legs can take him.

Tony turns back to the direction of the closet and sees the heads of his two teenagers peeking around a corner. The tan-skinned one is holding his phone in a way that looks like he filmed the whole thing. The pale one is giving his mentor a small, thankful smile.

Ned puts his phone away when the man takes notice and puts on a smile of his own, this one of awe. He makes sure his tone isn’t loud so no one would hear from the classrooms, “That. Was. _Awesome_.”

Tony fondly rolls his eyes as he walks over to them. He ruffles Ned’s hair, tone of light-hearted sarcasm, “Didya really like it? I had, like, _no_ time to practice.”

Peter rolls his eyes too, “Mr. Stark, you know you did amazing.”

The hero wraps his arm around his mentee and walks them both out of the school. He’ll be talking to the principal soon enough, so he doesn’t bother signing the kids out.

The spiderling leans into his father figure’s embrace, “Thank you again...for everything.”

Tony smiles and kisses the top of his kid’s head, “Always, kiddo.”

The two friends are happy as clams when they get in the car. After Ned is dropped off, Peter gets in the front seat with his hero, still yapping away at something that happened on patrol.

On the following Monday, Peter is all smiles at seeing that Flash is nowhere to be found.


	8. Sick Fic

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Peter doesn't feel well, and Irondad fluffy comfort happens. 
> 
> Nothing big happens in this one, there's no vomiting or anything like that...I just wanted to write unadulterated, tooth-rotting fluff, so here's almost 1100 words of that 😂
> 
> This was totally not inspired by my most recent trip to the mountains...toooooooootally not....

“You doing okay, Pete? You’re not looking too good.”

The sixteen-year-old resists the urge to groan and he protectively wraps his arms around his torso, “I’m alright.”

Tony rolls his eyes, “I can smell the bullshit from here, bud.”

The mentor-protege duo, with Happy acting as the chauffeur, are on their way back from a conference for SHIELD. Why this had to take place hours away in the mountains of “Nowheresville”, they’ll never know, but they made a fun weekend getaway out of it by renting a cabin. 

Boy does Peter wish he was still relaxing in that cabin because for the last half-hour or so, his stomach has been flip-flopping around and fatigue is starting to make itself known.

Curse those winding mountainous roads.

Tony continues looking at the kid beside him with pity. Peter was never known to get carsick, so the man doesn’t know what to exactly do. He then asks for clarification, “Stomach bothering ya?”

The kid wordlessly nods his head.

“You gonna puke or something? I can make Happy pull over, you know.”

The spiderling shakes his head, “No...no, I’m good.”

Tony gives him an unamused look, “Yeah, you look _fantastic_ ,” he then softens his tone, “Need the bathroom? We can stop somewhere.”

Again, the kid shakes his head, “No, I don’t think so, anyway. I just...I feel kinda nauseous...and my stomach feels funny.”

“Yep...being carsick does that to ya.”

Peter lets out a whine before he can stop himself, “It _sucks_. I never even  _ get _ carsick like what the hell, man?”

Tony doesn’t know how else to fix the problem except doing what he knows best. He holds out an arm and says, “C’mere.”

The teen obeys and curls into his father figure’s side, arms still wrapped around his middle, “How much longer?”

The genius wraps his arm around his kid and turns to the front of the car, “Hap, how much longer?”

Happy glances at them in his rearview mirror before refocusing on the road, “Still got a few more hours, boss.” He looks back at the young hero and sympathizes, “Sorry, kid.”

Peter groans as he lays his head against his mentor’s collarbone, “I hate everything.”

Tony starts soothingly rubbing his hand along one of his kid’s upper arms, “I know it sucks, but keep in mind, that’s until we get _home_. We’ll be out of the mountains in no time, I promise.”

The child takes in a deep breath to try to keep the nausea at bay. When he breathes out, he says, “The mountains just aren’t for me, Mr. Stark...gimme flatlands or give me death.”

The older man snorts at the dramatics, “I hear ya.” He then pulls out a water bottle from the drink holder in the door and offers it to Peter, “Here, it might help settle your stomach.”

Peter gratefully accepts it and takes several swigs before handing it back to Tony, “Thanks….”

The mechanic puts the bottle back in its spot, “Yep.”

There is silence for the next few minutes except for the radio that's on for background noise, although due to the poor signals, it sounds like  _ actual _ noise. 

Peter appreciates the comfort his hero is giving him but unfortunately, it’s not helping his situation. He curls his knees up and rests his feet on the other side of the seat. The tyke tries to keep the whines to a minimum but he unconsciously winces when his stomach turns itself upside down after Happy goes around another sharp curve.

Tony takes notice and turns to his driver again, “Hey, Hap, stop somewhere in about ten minutes or so, kid needs to take a breather.”

“Heard.”

Peter groans again, “ _Noooo_ , then it’ll take longer to get home.”

“I’d rather you be at least somewhat better and have it take longer to get home than the other way around. Walking around a little bit might do you some good.”

The kid huffs in acceptance, “Okay…” he then locks his gaze on the passing hills and trees, but that proves to be a bad idea because the fast-motion is making him dizzy. 

Tony then says, “Don’t look out the window, you might get dizzy.”

“But what else is there to look at?”

The mechanic lifts the young genius’s chin to make him lock eyes, “There you go, just look at my beautiful face.”

Peter rolls his eyes and smushes his face in the crook of his mentor’s shoulder, “You’re the worst.”

Tony giggles and the kid can’t help but smile along. The genius counters, “I’m actually the _best_ , but seriously, try not to look out the window.”

The kid nods his head and rests it back against his hero’s collarbone, gaze choosing to focus on the man’s shirt instead.

Happy stops at a gas station a few minutes later. Peter takes the opportunity to use the bathroom, splash some water on his face, and walk around the store in an attempt to calm his stomach. The last thing on earth that he wants to think about is food, but he buys some snacks anyway. If he throws up at some point, at least he'll be throwing  _ something _ up, the teen thinks.

The spiderling walks out of the store just as the bodyguard is finishing filling up the car with gas. They’re back on the road in no time and the two heroes resume the same position from earlier. The kid’s situation has lessened somewhat, but he still feels sick to his stomach. He then finds himself in a losing battle with his droopy eyelids and before long, he falls asleep against his father figure’s chest.

Tony sighs in relief, “Finally, I thought he’d never get to sleep.”

Happy adds, “Maybe he’ll stay that way until we get home.”

“If we’re lucky.”

Luck was apparently on their side because the tyke is still asleep when they get home. But to Happy’s light surprise, the kid isn’t the only one who’s nodded off.

When he puts the car in park, the driver looks in the backseat to see the two heroes in the same position as before, with the kid still asleep against his mentor’s chest and the older man asleep with his cheek resting on the top of his intern’s head.

Happy takes a few pictures of them on his phone - with the intention of holding them over his boss’s head for the rest of time - and quietly gets out of the car, leaving the sleeping duo to catch up on some much-needed “beauty rest.”


	9. Panic Attack (Part 3)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a continuation from two of my previous prompts, "Non-Con" and "Hurt/Comfort"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I can't believe I've dragged this out to a part 3....aaaaaaand I'm also planning a part 4 😂 ~~somebody stop me~~ I hope you guys enjoy!!!!
> 
> Trigger warning for references to sexual harassment and threats of rape/non-con (not graphic, I promise), also the panic attack description is vague.

Tony is actually in a good mood when he picks up his intern from school the following Wednesday.

Over the weekend, Pepper had him and Peter - accompanied by May, of course - give their statements to the police and their lawyers. Everyone promised to be discreet and keep this whole ordeal confidential, but Tony knows it’s a pipe dream. 

Even though it’s only a matter of time until everyone finds out, there haven't been any leaks about it yet, so the hero is savoring this “bliss” for as long as he can.

His kid is all smiles when he gets in the car and it makes Tony forget his troubles, at least for a little while. He can hear the teen’s stomach growl, so he decides to take him to a local burger joint before they go to the tower.

Peter has been great with Tony throughout these recent events. The kid was by his side when he told Happy and Rhodey and stuck to his word in agreeing to do everything he can to help his father figure. 

The man wouldn't blame him if Peter decided to back out - the legal process is a daunting one - but fortunately, or unfortunately, depending on how one looks at it, the spiderling is almost as stubborn as he is.

Tony, himself, has been adjusting about as well as the average person does, he thinks. He gave in and took more showers than he knew he needed, and spent the rest of the weekend with the kid, devouring himself into the safe haven of his lab. He’s determined to make his suits stronger than they were before, bigger than before, having more gadgets and gizmos than before. His armor has to be _...better_ than it was before.

They have to be better.

Because he would rather die than go through something like that again.

Despite everything his loved ones have told him, Tony still feels embarrassed, still feels... _weak._ The billionaire should be forgetting about that night, but his dumbass brain is doing anything but. At random times throughout the day, he’ll start to think about that Pepto Bismol-colored dress or that smile that reminds him of a clown or those bony hands that wouldn’t get the fuck away from him or -

And then he’s off to get another shower.

Tony knows the others have noticed his change in behavior, but he’s grateful that they haven’t commented. His wife continues being wonderful and it makes the man feel like he’s not totally worthless. The teenager is still rambling about literally everything, so that’s always a good distraction.

Which is why the hero decided to pick up his intern from school instead of having Happy do it for him. He needs a “Peter” distraction and he knows the kid will be more than happy to give him one.

The duo arrives at the diner and they sit at a booth in the corner, away from the rest of the patrons. They get their food and spend some time eating in comfortable silence. In what feels like mere minutes, Peter has consumed two double cheeseburgers and a large bag of fries. 

He should be used to it by now, but Tony still looks at the kid as if he just performed brain surgery. The man is holding his own half-eaten cheeseburger and shakes his head in disbelief, "Where do you put it all?"

Peter smiles and shrugs his shoulders, still chewing on his last bite.

Tony asks before he takes another bite, "Didya get enough?"

The kid swallows the last of his burger before nodding his head and answering with, "Yeah, I'm good. Thanks, Mr. Stark."

"You sure, you're not just telling me that, are ya? 'Cuz if you're still hungry, you're getting more food, that's the rule when you're around me."

Peter's heart fills with warmth at that, "Thanks, but I promise I'm good, scout's honor." 

Tony smiles and continues eating his own meal. His mentee fills the silence with more commentary about his week so far: how decathlon's going, acing his physics test, the latest snappy comeback he gave to that “Flash” brat, and so on. In between bites, the older man would laugh and praise the kid at all the right times, making said kid blush in the most adorable way possible. 

Yep...this is exactly what Tony needed. 

The genius pays when he's done, but they decide to stay a little while longer to let their food digest. The hero talks about the latest upgrades to the Spider-Man suit, which makes Peter’s eyes brighten in excitement. 

The mechanic will never say it out loud in a million years but he didn’t choose to upgrade the teen’s suit just because he felt like it. In actuality, Tony can't fathom the thought of his kid experiencing even a piece of something that he went through...and what if the boy doesn't have his own "Peter" there to save him? 

The genius quickly puts those thoughts out of his head before he gets worked up. That’s why he chose to upgrade the suit in the first place: to keep his mind at  _ peace, _ not distress.

The duo is still sitting at the table when a stranger unexpectedly walks up to them. Peter can feel his anxiety rising and falls silent immediately.

The newcomer is a young woman who doesn’t look too much older than Peter. Her eyes widen in what looks like shock at the billionaire and blurts out, “Oh my God, you’re Tony Stark!”

Assuming the stranger interrupted them to get an autograph or a picture, the hero turns towards the woman and gives her one of his “billion-dollar” smiles that he’s used for as long as he can remember. 

Before Tony can say anything, the woman speaks again but this time with anger in her tone, “I can’t believe you...I looked up to you, hell, I even have Iron Man action figures in my room. How-How could you do this?!”

The two heroes are both utterly confused and embarrassed about how this seemingly crazy person is acting. They look around the room and see that all heads are turning in their direction and it makes their skin prickle with goosebumps. Tony takes a second to come up with some kind of response.

_ What in the ever-living fuck is she talking about? _

The man then answers with sass in his tone, “Okay, um... _sorry_ but apparently, I didn't get the memo...what the hell did I ‘do’?”

The other person lets out an unfriendly laugh, “You’re not even man enough to admit it, oh my God.”

Peter comes to his father figure’s defense, “He hasn’t done anything wrong, leave him alone.”

“Oh,  _ that's _ what he told you? Hate to break it to you, kid, but your ‘hero’ is actually a  _ rapist.” _

Tony swears that his heart just dropped to his feet. He hears gasps of horror from the other customers and it makes his heart rate increase rapidly.

_ No...no no no no this isn’t happening, I’m dreaming, I have to be dreaming ‘cuz this is soooo not happening right now…. _

The billionaire gets ahold of his bearings long enough to try and defend himself, “What the fuck are you talking about, I didn’t  _ rape _ anyone -”

“That’s not what Lindsay Overton said on the news.”

That name...that fucking slimy name...of course that bitch has something to do with this. 

Tony glances at his mentee and sees his eyes widen in horror. The kid obviously hasn’t forgotten that name either.

The man suddenly finds himself struggling to breathe. He can’t believe this: this wasn’t supposed to happen, that’s why he pressed charges in the first place so that this shit wouldn’t fucking happen.

The stranger, seemingly satisfied at the reaction, says one last thing before walking away, “Have fun in jail,  _ Iron Man.” _

Tony hears Peter yell “Screw you!” but he doesn’t register it because the only thing that’s going through his mind is how much this nightmare is coming true. His left hand starts shaking and he unconsciously grabs his wrist with his right hand in an attempt to will the trembling down. He hears other people talking around him - probably talking  _ at _ him - and he can’t help but put his head in his hands in shame. 

The mechanic has no idea what to do, it’s like he’s stuck in that damn booth and his mind has completely checked out. He doesn’t know where he is, why he’s there, or even how he’s getting back home...he could sink into the seat like quicksand, for all he knows. 

But then he feels a soft tap on his upper arm and immediately recognizes the touch is coming from his intern. He turns his head slightly while it’s still in his hands and sees said intern sitting right next to him with a look of fear on his face. Tony hates himself for making his kid scared like this.

Peter uses his body to block his mentor from the commotion around them and makes sure to speak as softly as he can, “It’s okay, it’s okay, she’s gone, Lind-the other one’s gone too, it’s just me. I'm gonna take you back to the car, okay?"

The only thing Tony can think to do is nod his head.

He feels the gentle hand of his kid wrap around his bicep and slowly start to drag him out of the booth. Tony drops his hands and keeps his head down to avoid the gazes and camera flashes surrounding him. The man hears Peter yell “Get away from him!” and the like to the other people there, but he’s too out of it to feel embarrassed.

Peter keeps his arm around his father figure as he leads him to their car. He fishes the keys out of one of the man’s jacket pockets and unlocks the vehicle. The spiderling then starts to open the door to the driver’s seat but to his surprise, the mechanic opens the door to the back seat instead and climbs in.

The teenager gets in after him and closes the door. He takes in the sight of his hero looking absolutely frazzled and thinks that Tony might actually be subject to a heart attack if he doesn’t calm down.

Peter scoots to the middle seat and says calmly, “Deep breaths, Mr. Stark, it’s okay, it’s all gonna be okay.” He then starts taking deep, exaggerated breaths in the hopes that his mentor will follow suit. Tony does and for what feels like the next eternity, all he focuses on is breathing.

Tony sighs in relief when he feels his heart rate finally lessen. He unconsciously grabs onto one of his kid’s hands with his gradually-stilling one and squeezes it as a form of a “thank you.” Peter squeezes back and asks, “How’re you feeling?”

Tony nods his head and lays it against the headrest, “I’m good, I’m good.”

Peter rolls his eyes, “Mr. Stark -”

“I’m serious, I’m good now,” the genius turns his head towards the teen and squeezes their grip even more. He smiles gratefully, “Thank you...I don’t know what the hell I would’ve done if you weren’t there….”

The kid smiles back and returns the squeeze, “I’m glad I  _ was _ there...Mr. Stark, I’m so sorry -”

“Nope, none of that, none of this is your fault, it’s just a shitty situation...a  _ really _ shitty situation….”

“What happens now?”

Tony squeezes their grip to keep from freaking out again, “I don’t know...I honest to God don’t know,” he takes a few deep breaths before confessing in a whisper, “And I’m  _ terrified.” _

A strike of fear flows through Peter; he’s never seen his hero so scared before and he doesn’t want to see this look on him  _ ever _ again, “Pepper...Pepper’ll know what to do, she always does, she knows everything. Maybe she has a plan for something like this.”

_ Pepper. _

God, all Tony wants to do is to go see Pepper.

“Yeah...yeah, she’ll know what to do.”

“Are you okay to drive? I can call Rhodey or Happy or somebody -”

“Nah,” Tony squeezes their grip one last time before letting go, “Nah, I can drive just...talk to me like you always do, you’re good at that stuff.”

Peter gives the man a meaningful grin, “Sounds good.”

Before they can migrate to the front of the car, Tony feels his phone vibrate from one of his pockets. He mumbles a “Thank God” when he sees his wife on the caller ID and quickly answers it, “Babe, I’m so sorry -”

“Please tell me you’re on your way home,  _ please, _ Tony.”

“I am, I am, I’m leaving with the kid, we’ll be home soon.”

There are a couple of seconds of silence on the other line before Pepper whispers, “You know?”

Tony takes in a deep breath that he knows can be heard from the other end of the line, “Yeah...how bad is it?”

“Um...it’s-it’s not good, it’s not good, Tony, but I swear I’m doing everything I can, okay? Just…” the woman lowers a tone to barely a whisper, “Just please get home safely.”

They hang up after saying their goodbyes and the mentor-protege duo climb to the front seats, worried sick for whatever is about to come next.

-

Tony Stark has never hated the news more than he has right at this second. 

It happened, his worst fear has come true...everyone found out.

But not the actual story...not even a piece of what is currently broadcasting is true. And as he watches  _ her _ on TV, sitting in a chair with mascara running down her face, he feels like his whole body could burst into flames of absolute anger.

Between sobs and whines, Tony’s tormentor continues her testimony that sounds so terrifyingly real, “I-I-I tried to get away b-b-but his armor was...his armor was around my wrist and-and, and then he, uh...he pushed me down on the floor...and then he was on t-t-top of me,” she pauses to sniffle and wipe her nose with a tissue, “He...he wouldn’t stop...he wouldn’t stop….” She concludes with another loud sob and wipes some mascara off of her cheeks.

It is taking everything in Tony to not throw up his burger and fries.

When Lindsay pauses, the interviewer asks empathetically, “Was he wearing the Iron Man suit when he assaulted you?”

The woman in question sniffles again, “No, um...he was only wearing the armor on his-on his hands,” she then starts tenderly rubbing one of her wrists and whispers, but she can still be heard through the mic on her collar, “They felt like handcuffs -”

Tony flinches when he sees the TV unexpectedly turn off but relaxes when he sees Rhodey take a seat on the couch with the remote in his hand. The billionaire mutters, “Thanks for that...I forgot I still have an actual remote.”

Rhodey grunts, “Comes in handy every once in a while. I’m forbidding you from watching the news until this crap is dealt with.”

“I’m not gonna be able to escape this, you know that.”

His best friend sighs, “Just let me try, man, can you at least humor me?”

Tony surprisingly half-smiles, “Fine...how’s Pepper?”

“Barely come up for air. It’s like her phone is permanently glued to her ear, she’s made so many calls.” Rhodey sees a guilty look filter through his friend and consoles him by saying, “None of this is your fault, Tony, no one blames you for any of this shit. Pepper knows what she’s doing.”

“I know, I know, I just hate that I brought her into this.” The billionaire then gestures to the blank TV, “Has this been showing all day, the...the interview, I mean?”

“It popped up this afternoon. I’m amazed you didn’t find out sooner.”

“I like to mute notifications when I’m in the lab; I forgot to turn them back on when I picked up the kid. And I always listen to music on my phone so if anything was said on the radio, I didn’t hear it.”

_ Shit…. _

He hasn’t even thought about all the chaos that is no doubt currently flooding his social media accounts. Well...he’s definitely not logging in anytime soon.

Rhodey briefly glances around the room, “Where is the kid, anyway?”

“Sent him to the lab...I didn’t want him seeing this.”

“He’s gonna see it eventually, Tones, you can’t hide this from him forever.”

“I know, just…” Tony gives his friend a smile of mockery,  _ “Let me try, _ okay?”

The soldier snorts at that, “Touché,” his tone turns serious, “How you doing, and don’t you dare give me a snappy comeback.”

Tony lets out an exasperated breath, “Well, I don’t know,  _ sugarplum, _ how are you supposed to feel when you get attacked and then your attacker accuses you of attacking  _ her _ on national television, huh? Enlighten me, how am I supposed to fucking feel?!”

Rhodey holds up his hands to try and calm the man down, “Okay, okay, I get it, sorry, stupid question.”

The genius realizes the abrupt change in attitude and dials it back, “Sorry, sorry, I’m sorry,  _ God, _ I’m sorry -”

“It’s okay, I get it...well, I  _ don’t _ get it, but you know what I mean. This is quite a pickle we’re in, isn’t it?”

Tony laughs in a way that isn’t at all genuine, “A ‘pickle’? No, a ‘pickle’ is losing your luggage at the airport.” His anxiety grows the more he talks, “A ‘pickle’ is going to pay for your meal and forgetting your wallet. This is...well, I don’t know what this is, but it’s not a damn _‘pickle’_...I need a shower.”

The mechanic hurriedly gets up and starts to head for the bathroom but turns back around when he hears Rhodey get his attention. The soldier looks at him like he wants to say more about the situation, but decides on, “If you call me ‘sugarplum’ again, I will  _ actually _ smack you in the face with this remote.”

The other man smiles in response before heading back in the direction of the bathroom.

-

Thanks to the shower, Tony feels less anxiety-ridden. He goes back to the lab and sees his kid sitting in a chair with his arms crossed on a work table and head resting on top of them. The older man feels bad for leaving the teen by himself and walks over to him.

The protege lifts his head at the sound of his father figure’s footsteps and gives him a sorrowful look when he sees him. Tony speaks first, “Sorry I left you by yourself for so long...shower took longer than expected.”

Peter shrugs in response, “It’s fine...I’ve just been thinking.”

Tony hums in curiosity, “About what?”

“Well...we know there’s no evidence, right?”

The billionaire sits in a chair next to his mentee as he answers, “Right….”

“But...were there any security cameras or anything at the party? Maybe the cameras can show...what happened.”

_ Wow, I’m a fucking idiot. _

Tony’s eyes widen in realization, “Probably, most everywhere has cameras these days...that’s not a bad idea, kiddo.”

“And-And um, when I, y’know, ruined her dress and stuff, people were watching that, I had to tell people to go away once she left...can we track down those people that went to the party? Maybe they can explain what they saw, and-and,” the kid starts talking more excitedly, “If we can track them down, maybe we can look and see if they took videos or pictures...maybe you and...her could even be in the background of a picture or something...maybe?”

Tony looks at his kid in utmost bewilderment, “Pepper’s probably got a list of who attended. Maybe we can make  _ everyone _ give up their phones for a few minutes and get the pictures sent to FRIDAY to analyze ‘em...you are an absolute genius.”

Peter blushes at the compliment and smiles shyly. The shy smile then turns into a guilty one, “Sorry I broke your things….”

“Huh?” The hero takes a good look at the parts that are on the work table. His eyebrows shoot up in alarm when he notices that several of the parts are broken in some way. 

He turns back to the kid, “What happened?”

The spiderling bites his lip, “Um...I sometimes forget I’m strong and, um...I got really mad and...I had a hard time controlling it. I eventually just gave up...I’m sorry -”

Tony cuts him off by putting a comforting hand on the kid’s shoulder, “Don’t beat yourself up, the parts can be replaced. What did you get so angry about?”

Peter gives his hero a pitiful look and Tony knows exactly what’s coming, “I made a  _ really _ stupid mistake by going on Twitter.”

_ Good Lord…. _

“Do I wanna know?”

The web-slinger quickly shakes his head “no”, “It’s...it’s really bad, Mr. Stark. There’s, uh, there’s all these tags that are like trending all over the world and you don’t wanna know what those tags are,  _ trust me. _ And….”

Tony squeezes his kid’s shoulder, hand slightly trembling, “And what?”

“I watched the video, I know you didn’t want me to, but I couldn’t help it...she’s disgusting….”

The man squeezes his grip on his mentee’s shoulder and puts his head in his other hand, elbow propped onto the table, “I know, I know she is...God, I just want this to be over.”

“And...there’s videos online of what happened today at the restaurant...I’m sorry -”

Tony turns his head towards the kid, still resting in that hand, “Hey, what did I say about the ‘sorries’, huh? I told you none of this is your fault; I’m glad you were with me today.”

Peter half-smiles and leans into the comfort, “Me too.”

“You’re gonna be alright going to school tomorrow?”

The teen nods his head, “Yeah, I’ll be fine.”

Tony then nudges the tyke, “The second you’re  _ not _ fine, you better let me know, understand?”

The kid nods his head again and scoots his chair closer to his hero. He leans towards his father figure and wraps his arms around him in a hug. Tony wraps his arm around his kid and gives him a heartfelt squeeze. Peter then says, “It’s all gonna be okay, Mr. Stark...I know it will.”

The genius’s heart fills with warmth and hope, “Whatever happens, kid,  _ please _ don’t stop saying that.”

The teen squeezes his mentor’s torso in return, “Mr. Stark, when have you ever known me to stop talking?” Both heroes burst into giggles at that.

Tony never wants the giggling to stop.


	10. Cuddles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> How 'bout a 'lil Christmas fic to get into the festive spirit 🎄

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!!! I wrote a Christmas fic last year and doggone it, I wanted to do it again this year. I hope you enjoy!!! ☃️

It is just a couple days before Christmas and the festive spirit is in the air at the Stark cabin. Tony is currently sitting in his propped up recliner next to their Christmas tree and burning fireplace. With him is his daughter sitting in his lap, excitedly looking at the picture book her father is reading to her.

Once her dad finishes the book, Morgan turns to him with a cheeky smile on her face, “Can you read me another one?  _ Pleeeeease?” _

“Isn’t it time for you to go to bed?”

_ “Pleeeeease, _ Daddy? It’s Christmas.”

“Not for another two days, it’s not.”

_ “Daddyyyy, _ it’s still Christmas, the tree’s up...and you always read the stories best.”

Tony tries and fails to look unamused, “Flattery will get you nowhere, little miss.”

“What’s that mean? Does that mean you’re gonna read me another story...maybe a  _ Christmas _ story?”

The billionaire looks at her again, at her adorable smile and eyes a special kind of enthusiasm that only the power of Christmas could ever bring. He takes a breath and gives in, “Fine...but only because Mommy is still busy.”

Morgan’s eyes light right up, “Yay!” She gets out of the chair and sprints to her room to get another book before her father can say anything further.

Tony laughs as he watches his four-year-old race up the stairs. He’s not lying, his wife is busy wrapping last-minute gifts in the den. Peter is upstairs showering and May and Happy are...somewhere, but Tony figures that the less he knows, the better, leaving him to take care of Morgan and most importantly, keep her away from that den.

Said child is back in her dad’s lap within a minute, new picture book in hand, “How ‘bout this one?”

The mechanic wraps his arm around her as he gets them settled in, “Ah,  _ The Polar Express, _ an oldie but a goodie.”

“I like it when you do all the voices.”

A third voice erupts from the doorway, “Mr. Stark talks in different voices? Now,  _ this _ I gotta see.”

The father-daughter duo looks up to see Peter walking down the last of the steps, hair still damp and domestically unruly. As he starts to head into the kitchen, Morgan’s eyes brighten and she exclaims, “Petey! Daddy’s about to read another story, wanna sit with us?”

The teenager smiles in their direction, “Oh yeah, no way am I missing this.” He walks into the kitchen, “Want some hot chocolate?”

Morgan answers excitedly, “Yeah!”

Peter playfully pretends not to hear her as he gets the hot chocolate packets out of the cabinet, “Oh, you _ don’t _ want any? Alright, more for me then.”

His sister is hilariously exasperated,  _ “Peteeeeey…." _

Tony confirms, “Pete, I think you’re gonna actually kill her.”

The teenager starts laughing as he fills the kettle with water, "Well that wouldn't be fun right here before Christmas now, wouldn't it?"

Morgan takes the rhetorical question seriously, "Pete, don't be a 'Mr. Scrooge.'"

Tony mimics, "Yeah, Pete, don't be a 'Mr. Scrooge.'"

Peter responds with mock annoyance,  _ “Fiiiiiiiine. _ Want one too, Mr. Stark?”

“Please.”

The spiderling divvies up the hot chocolate, complete with mini marshmallows and a candy cane stick. He then brings the beverages over to his loved ones and plops himself onto the couch next to the recliner, facing his sister and father figure.

All three take a few sips of that sweet, chocolatey goodness. Tony then puts his and his daughter’s drinks on the table next to them and opens the book to start reading.

But before he can even say the first word, Morgan looks over at her brother, “Petey, I thought you said you wanted to sit with us?”

Peter takes another sip before he responds with confusion, “I am...I’m sitting right here.”

His sister looks even more confused than him, “No you’re not, you’re sitting way over there. It’s okay, Daddy doesn’t bite.” 

The two heroes look at each other in both amusement and surprise. As adorable as it sounds, there’s no way  _ both _ kids can fit on Tony’s lap...right?

Well, only one way to find out.

The mechanic shifts a little bit and adjusts Morgan so that she’s sitting fully on his left leg. He then beckons his other kid to join him, to which the teen responds with a raised eyebrow and he says reluctantly, “Um...I don’t know -”

Tony smiles gently, “Let’s take a whack at it, what d’ya say? Unless you don’t want to -”

The spiderling cuts him off, “No, no I do, it’s just um...are you sure it’s gonna work?”

Morgan answers for her dad, “Totally! Don’t worry, he’s super duper comfy.”

Peter grunts and smiles while mumbling to himself, “I know.” He takes one more sip of his hot chocolate before he gets up and climbs onto his father figure’s lap, not giving a damn of how ridiculous it probably looks because it’s  _ Christmas _ and cheesy stuff like this is supposed to happen, damn it.

Tony wraps his metal arm around the teenager’s side and pulls him close. The kid immediately feels that safe and secure warmth filter through him, causing him to let out a sigh of happiness. The older man smiles at him, at both of his kids, having a hard time believing that this is his life now.

And he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Morgan beams at her brother, “Told you he’s comfy.”

The teenager grins knowingly at his mentor before replying with, “Yeah...yeah, you’re right, he is.”

Tony chimes in sarcastically, “D’aw shucks, you’re making me blush.”

Peter rolls his eyes,  _ “Shut up, _ are you gonna read the story or not?”

_ “Don’t rush me. _ My ‘voice talent’ doesn’t just pop out of thin air, y’know.”

“Oh,  _ pardon me, _ your majesty.”

Tony smiles smugly, “Yeah, that’s right.”

Morgan giggles, “Daddy, you’re silly.”

Her brother responds, “The silliest of them all -”

The older hero cuts him off in mock offense, “Hey, watch it.”

Both kids laugh at that and Peter then says, “But that’s why we love you.”

Morgan agrees, “Yeah, we love your silliness.”

Tony fondly rolls his eyes and gestures towards the book that is in his daughter’s hands, “Alright, let’s get this show on the road.” He unwraps his arms from around his kids and grabs the book, opening it up to the first page in front of them.

Before the man can start, his little kid commands, “Don’t forget to do all the cool voices.”

Peter confirms, “Oh my God if you don’t do the voices then what’s the point in Christmas?”

The older genius answers, playfully exasperated, “Alright, fine...I’m not exactly Mickey Rooney, fair warning.”

“Well, you’re in luck, Mr. Stark, we don’t  _ want _ Mickey Rooney.”

Morgan asks, “Who’s that?”

The older kid replies, “He plays Santa Claus in those cartoons we’ve been watching.”

_ “Ohhhhh….” _

And then Tony finally begins reading aloud  _ The Polar Express, _ making good on his promise to give each character’s dialogue their own voice, even going so far as to act out sound effects like the train, kids’ giggling, and the dings of Santa’s sleigh bells.

While his father figure is reading them the story, Peter wraps his arms around the other’s metal one and rests his head on his bicep, still staring at the book that Morgan has now decided to take over flipping through. Tony pauses and turns slightly towards his protege, “You want a pillow or something? That can’t be comfortable.” He then gestures to the faux arm in question.

The spiderling shakes his head, sporting an almost serene smile on his face, “Nah, it’s comfy.”

“How...it’s  _ metal.” _

“But it’s still  _ you.” _

“You’re weird.”

The teen’s smile turns smug, “I know.”

His sister then says, “You’re  _ both _ weird.”

Her father playfully pokes the kid in her side, “So are you, little munchkin, there’s no such thing as a  _ normal _ Stark.”

Morgan simply shrugs, “Then I’ll just be the first one.” She then points at the book, cueing her dad to continue the story.

_ Yeah, we’ll see about that. _

With an amused smirk, Tony finishes the story, complete with a “Ho Ho Ho” from Santa Claus and a “Merry Christmas” from the conductor.

When he closes the book, the retired hero looks at both of his kids.

And sees them fast asleep.

_ Oh, you’ve gotta be kidding me...I said “Ho Ho Ho” for nothing? _

Tony knows he should wake the two of them up and get them to bed...but he really doesn’t want to.

So instead of being the responsible adult and taking them to bed, the billionaire puts the book away - making sure to not tip over their still partially full mugs - and leans back fully into the recliner, pulling his kids towards him.

He has FRIDAY turn on the TV at a low volume and he just mindlessly watches the first thing to pop up, some baking competition show. Tony then starts unconsciously ruffling his daughter’s hair, causing her to lean more into him.

His other kid, however, cannot be moved, Peter is clutching onto that arm as if it’s a stuffed animal. If this body part was flesh and bone, Tony is positive that it would’ve gone to sleep by now.

The mechanic is tempted to move his arm so he could adjust Peter into a more comfortable position but the tyke just looks so damn cute that he can’t in good conscience move him in fear of waking him up.

So Tony just continues watching the TV and listening to the crackling of the fireplace...perhaps the most content he’s ever been.

And he hopes to stay that way for a long,  _ long _ time. 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading!! I'm also on Tumblr @baloobird


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